I Believe In You
by JaminJazzi
Summary: However, that day I noticed that Haru held onto my hand just a little bit tighter than usual. - (Sequel to ISWY) Kei and Haru are still trying to figure out how a relationship works. Others doubt their relationship even though they are happy. With graduation fast approaching decisions must be made quickly. Follow the pair through decisions that will determine their lives.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_"__It's so pretty." I whispered. My head rested in Haru's lap as we sat in his backyard. I looked up at the night sky and saw stars shining bright against the black velvet sky. _

_"__It is." This was the second time that I had stayed this late at Haru's. I would always be the last one to leave his house after our friends would leave to return to their homes, but Haru never said anything. We would always sit together and do something. Some nights we would watch some television or we would sit outside to look up at the stars together. _

_"__If I ever talk too much, Haru, just tell me." I blurted out. My eyes found his ocean blue ones when I felt his slender fingers comb through my hair. _

_"__You don't talk too much." He said. _

_"__Are you sure?" He nodded his head at me. I smiled at him before sitting up and facing him. He gave me a questionable look before I pressed my lips on his for a chaste kiss. I sighed before lying back down and resting my head in Haru's lap. _

_"__Have you been practicing the song for your choir?" _

_"__Yup."_

_"__Can I hear it?" I raised my eyebrow at him. Haru rarely asked me to sing for him, so whenever he did I was always surprised. _

_"__If you really want to."_

_"__Sing for me, Kei." I smiled up at him before nodding my head and sitting up straight. _

* * *

><p>"Coming!" I yelled as I ran towards the front door. After I peeled the wooden door back Makoto and Haru were standing in front of me.<p>

"Morning, Kei." Makoto smiled at me.

"Morning." Haru sighed.

"Good morning! This is a nice switch, huh?" I commented as I pulled on my shoes and stepped outside my house. After I locked the front door the three of us began walking to school in the crisp spring air.

"It's usually us picking up Haru." Makoto commented.

"I never told you guys to come and pick me up." Haru mumbled.

"But if we didn't then you'd never get out of the bath in time for school!" I pointed out to the blue-eyed boy. He huffed as he looked away from the two of us and towards the familiar sea.

"So why were you running late, Kei? You never run late." Makoto questioned.

"Well…my alarm didn't go off this morning, so I was rushing when I woke up. Also, my mom was in the washroom and refused to get out to let me use it quickly. Then Kaiya and Kaito were running around in the kitchen making a mess." I let out a sigh as I mentally relived my morning. "It was just one of those mornings."

"I guess it is just one of those mornings." Makoto laughed.

"Are you guys cleaning the pool today?" I asked.

"Yup! Are you going to help us?"

"Nope. We have our first choir meeting today, so I can't, but I'll come by afterwards, so we can all head home." I explained.

* * *

><p>"I brought everyone snacks." I announced as I walked into the pool area. The boys were busy scrubbing the pool while Gou was cleaning the platforms.<p>

"How about we tell them in a few minutes? They're almost done." Gou suggested. I looked over to the boys and saw that she was right. They had worked so hard and the pool almost looked brand-new.

"Kei-chan!" Nagisa waved over to me with a big smile plastered on his face.

"Keep scrubbing Nagisa!" I yelled back.

"You brought us snacks, right?" He asked.

"Of course I did! So the faster you finish the faster you can eat!" As Nagisa yelled in excitement he continued to clean his piece of the pool. I sat down at the edge and pulled out my snack from the bag. As I slowly began to munch on the soft pastry Gou sat herself down to my left.

"Can I have mine, please?" I nodded my head and I fished through the bag until I found hers. Once I placed it in her hands she squealed and pulled back the wrapper to take a bite. "Kei-san?"

"Yes?"

"I have a question." I looked at her and nodded my head.

"Go on."

"What are you and Haru?" I raised an eyebrow at her question as I stared at her.

"Human?" I suggested. She shook her head at my answer and rephrased her question.

"Well…I was just wondering if you two were a couple. Since we all know what happened last year after regionals none of us really know what you two are."

"Oh! Well we're together."

"Like a couple?"

"Kind of." I looked away from Gou and towards Haru. His soft black hair slightly blew in the breeze as he continued to focus on cleaning the pool. His slender fingers held onto the sponge as he put pressure on the pool to scrub away the dirt. "I asked Haru that same question a few months ago. All he said to me was that we're together. He's not comfortable with titles. He's too simple for that." As I shrugged my shoulders I looked back at Gou and smiled. "So yes, we're together. Don't think of it like being girlfriend and boyfriend, but just think about it as being with someone because he taught me that we don't need a title to be happy."

* * *

><p>I opened up my front door and walked inside. After taking off my shoes I walked into the kitchen and placed my bag on the table as my mom ran threw the kitchen to stand directly in front of me.<p>

"You won't believe who just called!" She yelled in my face.

"God?" I asked.

"No, Kei. It was the Yamazaki family!"

"What?" I practically yelled out of disbelief.

"Their son is going to Samezuka now! We're all going to have dinner soon! Isn't this great news?" I was shocked at what my mom had yelled and she didn't seem to realize that I hadn't moved or made a sound. I felt my knees go weak, so I sat in the chair beside me as continued to stare at my mom as she rambled on about her best friend.

"H-He's back?" I whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>As I promised...THE FIRST CHAPTER TO THE SEQUEL! You guys have to leave me a review or send me a PM, okay?<strong>

**Also, remember that I'll be updating this story EVERY WEDNESDAY! So I'll be back next week! :D**

**Leave me a review please!**

**-xoxo JaminJazzi**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I was debating on if I should tell Haru about Sosuke. But then how do I tell him? Do I tell him that he was my closest childhood friend and that we planned on spending the rest of our lives together? Maybe he had forgotten about all those promises and had already moved on without telling me. It's not like he had been around all these years.

I felt my body jolt upwards after someone had pushed my head to the side. As I looked around I saw Haru staring at me with curious eyes. I realized that I had stopped studying with him and became too wrapped up in my own thoughts.

"Is something wrong?" He asked me.

"Nope. I was just thinking." I answered. He continued to analyze me as he looked at me. Even with his bored expression I knew that he knew that I lied. There was obviously something wrong since I always give Haru my attention when we're studying, but he never did like to press me when something was bothering me.

"Maybe we should have something to eat." He suggested as he stood up from his spot on the floor and walked towards the kitchen.

"Mackerel?" I laughed as I followed him.

"How did you know?" I laughed as I watched him pull out the frying pan and the familiar fish. I stood beside him and watched as he cooked us some food.

"I think we need to broaden your horizon with food." I suggested.

"Why?"

"Because we can't keep having mackerel every day."

"It's healthy."

"Not to have it every day, Haru." He stayed silent as he continued to fry the fish. I shook my head and went to the familiar fridge to pull out some juice and pour it in glasses for us.

"But you like mackerel." I gave him a soft smile as I walked over to him with our drinks.

"I don't mind mackerel, but it would be nice to have a change every once in a while." He stayed silent as he finished up with our snack before surprising me and stealing a quick peck from my lips. "That…that was bold." I mumbled.

"Now we can have mackerel."

"Wait, what?"

"You wanted to change it up, so now I did and now we can have mackerel in peace." I sighed at Haru's simple way of thinking. It was so simple that it was complicated.

* * *

><p>When I walked into my house I felt like I could handle all my emotions. I was thinking about not telling Haru about Sosuke because I was pretty sure that Haru probably wouldn't meet Sosuke. However, when I walked into my kitchen to find the Yamazaki family sitting at my kitchen table I realized that maybe that was wishful thinking.<p>

"Kei, you're home! Looks who's here!" My mom waved her arms about in excitement as I looked at the Yamazaki family, but my eyes stopped moving when I saw Sosuke. His shoulders had become broad and you could see that his legs were having trouble fitting under our table since he has grown in height. He stared at me with the same emerald coloured eyes that I knew from my childhood.

"Come sit down and tell us everything you've been up to." Mrs. Yamazaki waved me over to the seat beside hers. As my legs moved without permission I sat beside her and began to listen to her talk about the past few years. I wasn't paying attention though. Sosuke and I continued to stare at each other as we sat across from one another. I was wondering what he was thinking. I was wondering why they were all in my home. This all happened so fast and I didn't know what to do.

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Are we going to be together forever?" Sosuke shrugged his shoulders as we continued to swing on the swing set. I waited for an answer to my question because I didn't know when I would see him again since he was moving away from me to continue swimming. _

_"__I'll send you mail as much as I can." He mumbled. He gave me a surprised look as he saw me stretch my hand towards him and stuck out my pinkie._

_"__Promise?" As he gave my pinkie a quizzical look before looking at me and smiling, he wrapped his pinkie around mine. _

_"__Promise."_

* * *

><p>"You stopped sending me mail." I whispered as I sat on the familiar swing set with Sosuke. The two of us managed to sneak away from our parents to come outside to the place that felt so familiar.<p>

"I know." My fingers played with each other as I stared down at my hands. I couldn't look at the man who was now sitting beside me on the swings. He didn't look like the Sosuke that I knew and loved, but at the same time he did.

"You broke your promise." As much as it pained me to say those words – they were true.

"I know."

"And you can't-"My words got caught in my throat as I felt so many different emotions hit me like a wave. My fingers clenched onto the fabric of my pants as I bit down on my lower lip. "And you can't even apologize." My voice cracked as my eyes began to glaze over with tears.

"I'm sorry." My head shot in his direction and that was probably the first time I got a proper look at his face all night. Familiar teal orbs stared back at me as his, once serious, facial expression was soft. There were no creases in his forehead and his jaw wasn't clenched.

"You don't know how much it hurt me." I whispered.

"It hurt you as much as it did me." He stated. As I stared into his eyes I felt the all familiar feelings that he gave me when I was a child. I felt my mouth begin to dry up out of nerves as I looked at him. "Don't cry." He whispered. I felt my right hand move up to my cheek and I noticed that a single tear escaped my eye. I quickly looked away from him and wiped away the tear.

"I wasn't crying." I mumbled.

"Because you never cry, right?" His sarcastic tone was noticeable as he sat beside me. I avoided eye contact with him as I looked away from him.

"Sosuke! Kei! It's time for Sosuke to go home!" My mom yelled from our backdoor. I sighed and stood up from the swing that I had been sitting on for so long.

"Kei…I have to tell you something." I turned around and looked up at Sosuke. He towered over me as he stood in front of me. Then it happened, word vomit. I didn't know it was going to come out and I didn't know why it did come out.

"I'm seeing someone." I could tell that his brain was processing what I had just blurted out.

"What?"

"We've been seeing each other for almost a year."

"Who is it?"

"You don't know him."

"Who is it?" His was more stern with his voice now as he stared at me. I swallowed the lump in throat before answering.

"Haru. His name is Haru."

"He's Rin's friend, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"He's the one you went to school with, right? With Makoto?" I nodded my head. As he stared at me for a few seconds I wondered what he was thinking, but when he pushed past me to go inside I grabbed his hand.

"You know that no matter what, you'll always be one of my closest friends, right? I mean…we made those promises when we were five years old."

"So they don't matter because we made them when we were five?" He asked me.

"No of course not." I shook my head at this ridiculous idea. "Of course they matter and I promised that we would be together forever and we will be because I can't not have you in my life, Sosuke. You are so special to me." Sosuke didn't say anything. As I continued to keep his hand in mine I asked him one more question, "Sosuke, what was it you wanted to say?"

"Nothing. Just that you'll be seeing me swimming again soon." As he yanked his hand out of mine I silently followed him into the house.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright! That's chapter two! So what do we think, huh? Tell me your thoughts! I got 1 review for the first chapter, so let's push for 2! <strong>

**-xoxo JaminJazzi**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Kei!" My head shot up from its resting position in the palm of my hand. My eyes quickly scanned my surroundings and I noticed that I was in my classroom sitting at my desk. The bell must have rung – signalling lunch to begin. Makoto and Haru stood in front of me with confused faces.

"Sorry boys. I was miles away." I laughed off my daydreaming as I stood up from my seat.

"Are you okay? You never blank out like that." Makoto pointed out the obvious to me. I smiled and waved my hand at him.

"I'm perfectly fine. Should we go meet Nagisa and Rei?" I grabbed my bag and turned back to look at the two towers in front of me. "Well come on then."

* * *

><p>With my hands dug into my pocket my eyes wandered off to the sky. My brain was going overtime like it always did when I began to overthink. I didn't notice where I was until I came in front of Haru's house. I looked around confused as to where Makoto must have gone, but I realized that he must've gone home already and I didn't even realize it.<p>

"You've been quiet all day." Haru blatantly said to me as he stood in front of me.

"Who? Me? No I haven't." I tried to smile at him and laugh it off, but I knew by his facial expressions that he wasn't going to fall for that simple trick.

"Is it me?" He asked me. I shook my head out of surprise before raising an eyebrow at him.

"Why would it be you?" I placed my hands on my hips and bent forward slightly. "Have you done something that I should know about?" I teased him.

"You're so troublesome." He sighed as he looked away from me. I laughed and stood up straight again.

"Everything's okay, Haru." His sea blue eyes stared at me as he tried to figure out what to say next. As his brain played the pro and con game I smiled up at him before going on my tippy toes and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Before he could reply I turned around and began to walk towards my home, so I could think some more.

* * *

><p><em>My hips swayed slightly as I walked around my room. I was singing the song that was playing off my laptop. This was always my favourite part of the day – to just playfully sing the songs that I loved and to have fun with them. There was no need to be perfect; there was only a need to be happy. <em>

_As I continued to lose myself in the music I turned around and saw Haru leaning up against my doorframe. I slightly jumped at his form. _

_"__When did you get there?" I asked him. _

_"__Dinner is ready." He said simply. _

_"__You're having dinner with us tonight?" I was surprised that he was having dinner with my family without me having to ask him to join us. _

_"__You're having mackerel tonight." I sighed as I realized the real reason why he was here. _

_"__It figures as much." _

_"__Haruka Nanase! You better not be defiling my precious flower up there!" I heard my dad's yell from all the way in the kitchen. _

_"__Let's get down there before my dad runs up here and throws you out the nearest window." I sighed as I turned off my music and walked past my other half. The two of us walked down the stairs and walked into the kitchen happily to have my dad stand in front of Haru, with a intimidating look on his face. _

_"__I've always liked you, Haru, but now you're dating my daughter."_

_"__Dad."_

_"__So now you're on my bad list!" I grabbed onto my dad's arm and began to pull him away from Haru. _

_"__Mom needs you in the kitchen." I groaned. _

* * *

><p>"You guys are going to help out with the Iwatobi SC Returns reopening?" I repeated what my friends had just told me.<p>

"Yup! We're going to do a relay!" Nagisa threw his arms up in the air.

"And a muscle contest." Gou added.

"We're not doing a muscle contest!" Rei looked frustrated with the idea of a muscle contest going on.

"Well if you don't participate in it then it doesn't really matter if they do one or not, right?" I asked.

"But a muscle contest isn't beautiful!"

"But if Coach Sasabe says it's okay…"

"He hasn't said anything yet." Makoto piped in.

"Then you guys are just going to have to wait then." I said.

"A muscle contest will do very well." Gou stated.

"But this is for children!" Rei yelled again. I sighed and lied down on the familiar ground of Haru's family room.

"I'm just going to let you guys fight this one out." I mumbled to myself.

"Or you could sing for us in a bathing suit, Kei-chan!" I shot up form my spot on the floor and stared at Nagisa with wide eyes.

"Excuse me?" I yelled.

"I think that would attract a lot of people." He pushed the idea.

"Haru, aren't you going to say anything?" I looked at the boy who agreed to be my other half to see him sitting silently with a bottle of water in his hands.

"I wouldn't mind." He stated as he took another swig from his water bottle."

"What? No! What kind of idea is that? How about we just stick with the relay?"

"Aw! That's no fun, Kei-chan!"

"Rin is going to get a team together to do the relay with us." Makoto told me.

"That's good then. You guys can all swim together and see who wins then." I said.

"It's going to be great! We're definitely going to win!" Nagisa cheered.

* * *

><p>"Kaiya! Kaito! Do you two want to get going or not?" I yelled up the stairs.<p>

"We're coming!" The twins bounded down the stairs with their bags over their shoulders and their jackets already on.

"You two are always making me late for things." I sighed

"Well we're ready now." Kaito pointed out as he stood in front of me.

"I think you just want to go see your boyfriend." Kaiya teased.

"I do not." I began to feel my cheeks warm up at my younger siblings teasing me about my relationship with Haru.

"Yes you do." The two said in unison.

"Let's just go." I stated as I pushed the two of them out of our front door. When I stepped outside Haru, Makoto, Ran and Ren were all waiting patiently outside our front door. "I'm sorry for the wait everyone." I announced.

"Haru-chan! Out dad is angry with you." Kaito said. I raised an eyebrow at the little boy in front of me.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because he keeps saying you're going to ruin Onee-san." Kaiya finished.

"Okay that's enough! You've been spending way too much time with dad." I sighed at the twins before dragging them with me, so they wouldn't say anything else compromising to everyone else in the group.

* * *

><p>"Hey! Haru-chan! Mako-chan! Kei-chan!" Nagisa yelled as our little group walked over to Rei and Nagisa.<p>

"Good morning." Rei greeted.

"Morning." The three of us said in unison.

"Big brother butterfly!" The four children yelled in unison as they ran over to Rei and stuck their arms out towards him.

"You can tell they spend too much time together in class." I said to Makoto.

"Well I'm happy they get along." He smiled.

"Oh! Rei-chan! You're so popular!" Nagisa stated.

"I'm honoured." He said happily as he smiled at the children.

"How about we get inside, huh? Then you guys can start swimming." I suggested to the four kids in front of us. They all grinned at me before yelling in delight and running for the front door. The rest of us walked behind them and into the foyer of the new swimming club to meet Gou and Miss Amakata.

"Good morning!" The two greeted our group.

"Good morning!"

"How about you for go get changed into your swimsuits, okay?" I suggested to the four kickboard competitors. They nodded their heads before running towards the change rooms to get ready.

"Here's the program." Gou handed the pamphlet to Makoto. He thanked her as he received it.

"Looks like lots of events are planned." Miss Amakata said to us.

"That means this'll be a pretty fun day then." I smiled.

"I can't wait." Nagisa stated.

"You lied!" All of our heads turned towards the front door to see the familiar red-haired Rin drag a boy with orange hair into the foyer. "You said you were taking me someplace with lots of cute girls!"

"Quit complaining! There _are_ plenty of cute girls! See? Cute girls!" Rin yelled as he pointed out the little girls getting ready for the days events. I sighed as I looked at the exchange.

"I've been tricked, Nii-chan!" The orange-haired boy cried.

"And he's supposed to be the captain?" I mumbled to myself as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"You're late! Onii-chan!" Gou yelled as she ran over to her big brother. I watched as the orange-haired boy stopped his flailing around as he stared at Gou.

"Wait a second. You're…cute!" The mysterious boy announced.

"Oh God. Will you guys come over here already?" I waved over the little group, so they knew that we all wanted to talk to them. They silently made their way over to us, the newcomer not taking his eyes off of Gou.

"Rin, and all of you, thank you for coming." Makoto thanked our friend.

"Sure."

"I've been looking forward to it." The silver haired boy known as Ai-chan said.

"I didn't even notice you were there! Hey, Ai-chan." I smiled at him.

"H-Hello, but you don't have to call me –chan."

"Oh? That's what Nagisa calls you, but then again…he calls everyone –chan." I mumbled to myself.

"We have programs for all of you." Gou said as she handed the pamphlets to her older brother.

"Thank you very much." Aichiro thanked Gou. Before anyone could say another word Gou slightly gasped as she ran through the group.

"Sosuke-kun!" I looked up and saw the familiar teal-eyed boy standing in front of the doors with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey! How've you been, Gou?" I could see how tall Sosuke really was from this distance since he made Gou look like a child from here.

"Great! It's really been a long time. I haven't heard from you once since we ended up in separate high schools. In that respect, you're just like Onii-chan." She scolded her childhood friend.

"I'm sorry about that." He apologized.

"Well you've never been good at keeping up with people, huh?" I commented from my spot in-between Makoto and Haru. Sosuke looked over Gou to see me standing there with a playful smile on my lips.

"Well at least I was always everyone's favourite." He retorted.

"It's the eyes. I swear it was the eyes." I said.

"Huh? You two know each other?" Gou asked us as she looked in-between us.

"Sadly. We practically grew-up together." I sighed.

"Yup. We saw each other just as much as I saw you, Gou." Sosuke nodded his head.

"But…how?" She asked.

"Our mom's are pretty much best friends, so we were forced to get to know each other." I explained.

"I never knew that!" She complained.

"How would you? Did you stalk Sosuke when we were kids?" I laughed.

"And on that note, we'll catch you guys later, okay?" Rin announced to us.

"Yeah." Makoto nodded his head.

"Let's go." And just like that the Samezuka group began to follow Rin expect for the newcomer.

"I'm Mikoshiba Momotarou! My hobby is hunting for stag beetles! My favourite proverb is 'Even Homer sometimes nods'! My best dish is fried eggs! When I shower the first place I wash is-"

"Get a move on!" Rin yelled as he dragged away Momotarou. I let out a sigh of relief as the boy was dragged away.

"I really didn't want to know where he washed first in the shower." I mumbled.

* * *

><p>"Go Kaito! Go Kaiya!" I yelled out the twins names as they used their kickboards to swim down the lane. At the end of it they jumped out of the pool and ran towards me.<p>

"Onee-chan! Did you see us?" Kaito and Kaiya yelled as they ran over to me. I knelt onto my knees and allowed them to give me two soaking wet hugs.

"I did and you guys did great!" I congratulated the two.

"What did you think, Haru-chan?" Kaito asked Haru. Haru looked confused for a second before nodding his head.

"You did well."

"Ya! Did you hear that, Onee-chan? We did well!" Kaito yelled. I laughed as I patted his head.

"I know you did."

* * *

><p>"And now it's time for today's main event, the 200m medley relay between Team Dolphin and Team Shark."<p>

"Onii-chan, good luck!"

"You got this boys!" Makoto got into the lane and got himself ready to start the relay. As soon as the whistle was blown Makoto and Momotarou both dove into the water and began to swim all the way to the other end. "Go Makoto!" I cheered for the brunette. When Nagisa jumped into the water he gave the team an even bigger lead than before. However, when Rei and Rin began to swim together the gap began to get smaller and smaller due to Rin's speed. When Sosuke and Haru began to swim together the gap became even smaller between the two. You could truly see how fast Sosuke was in the water at that moment.

"Haru!"

"Haur-chan!"

"Haruka-senpai!"

"Come on Haru!" We all yelled as Haru slammed his hand on the side of the pool – signalling the win to go to Team Dolphin. I walked over to them and clapped my hands together. "Great job boys!"

"Thanks, Kei-chan!" Nagisa yelled.

"That was so cool!" I looked down to see that Kaito, Kaiya, Ren and Ran pushed past me to stand in front of the four swimmers.

"I want to swim like that one day!" Kaito said.

"Me too!"

"Can you teach us?"

"Please?" I laughed as the four of them continued to ask the four boys for lessons in swimming. I shook my head as I smiled at the kids. I would call this day a success.

* * *

><p>"Alright Haru, it looks like this is our stop." I said as Kaito, Kaiya and myself stood in front of our house.<p>

"Good night Haru-chan!" The twins said as they waved goodbye to him and run into the house to tell out parents what had happened today.

"Kei."

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

* * *

><p><strong>So since this is a EXTRA LONG CHAPTER I would like a ton of reviews! So come on guys! I know you can do it! Or send me a PM! :D<strong>

**-xoxo JaminJazzi**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_"__What do you want, Yamazaki?"_

_"__It's been a while, Nanase. I saw your relay at regionals last year."_

_"__You're out here now?"_

_"__As it happens. What you guys did was really idiotic, though. You even dragged Rin into it."_

_"__What is it you want to say?"_

_"__I would never have made him do something like that and as for Kei. Oh Kei. Do you even consider yourselves in a relationship?"_

_"__What do you mean?"_

_"__Don't ever get in Rin's way again and you should decide whether you want to be completely committed to Kei or not because she could do a whole lot better than you."_

* * *

><p>"What's up?" I asked Haru. He stood in front of me as gave me his signature stare before opening his mouth and asking me a question that completely threw me off my guard.<p>

"Are you happy?"

"Huh?"

"Are you happy?"

"Of course I am. Where is this coming from?"

"Are you happy with us?"

"Haru…"

"Are you?"

"Yes I am. Are you?" He gave me a chaste nod to answer my question. "Where is this coming from?"

"Nowhere."

"Well it didn't pop out of thin air." I explained.

"Goodnight, Kei."

"What? You're going to ask me that and then just go home?" I asked him. He took a step towards me and placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Goodnight, Kei." He said one more time before turning around and walking home. I huffed and turned around on my heel and stomped into my house.

* * *

><p>I stood beside Gou and watched as all the teams lined up to begin their relay. The Swimming Club hadn't received any new members yet, but we were all positive that if the swimming club won this relay then they would gain more positive attention.<p>

"The time has come at last for Iwatobi High's famed club-versus-club relay race! The competitors are the tennis club, the basketball club, the rugby club, the kendo club, the judo club, and the swim club! Which club will emerge victorious? Get ready to start!"

I watched Haru and waited for the sound of the signalling gun to go off. When it did my breath was caught in my throat as I watched Haru run. His form was perfect and he looked to beautiful running, but he was missing the most important element when it comes to running – speed.

"Could it be that Nanase-senpai's actually pretty slow on land?" Gou's friend asked aloud.

"He definitely was not made for running, that's for sure." I sighed as I saw him get to Makoto in last place. As soon as Makoto received the kickboard he began to gain speed quickly and pushed past the other runners.

"That's amazing! We're in third!" Gou's friend cheered.

"That's Makoto-senpai's power sprinting!" Gou stated.

"Unlike Haru, Makoto is actually fast on land." I commented.

However, as soon as Makoto passed the kickboard to Nagisa is sliped out of his fingers and bounced on the ground a few times before Nagisa quickly grabbed the kickboard and began to run with it. Because of this the swim club was back in last place and the blonde had to sprint in order to catch up with everyone else.

"We were so close. If only they hadn't dropped the kickboard." Gou's friend commented.

"It's not over yet." Gou said.

"Huh?"

"Gou's right. We have a ex-track star on the swim team and he can run…he can run fast." I stated. As soon as Nagisa passed the kickboard to Rei the blue haired boy began to run at full speed towards the finish line and in first place. "That's our Rei." I smiled to myself as Gou and her friend began to jump together out of celebration.

* * *

><p>"So no new members, huh?" I asked as Makoto, Haru and I began to walk home together.<p>

"Not a single one." Makoto sighed.

"But at least the pool is open now! So you guys can swim again." I pointed out the obvious to the two swimmers.

"That's true too. Oh and Rei was trying to learn how to do the other strokes today."

"Really? How did that go?"

"He still needs to practice some more."

"Well I'm sure he'll get it soon. It just takes some practice. What do you think, Haru?" The blue-eyed boy looked at me with a blank stare before looking forward again.

"I think being good at one stroke is good enough." A small smile crept onto my lips as I looked at him.

"That's so like you, Haru."

* * *

><p>I was sitting in class working on my essay when I noticed that my phone had vibrated in my bag. I sneakily pulled my phone out of my bag and looked at the text message that light up my screen.<p>

_Do you want to grab dinner with me tonight?_

I looked a little confused as I stared at the screen in front of me. I had never pinned Sosuke the kind of guy to want to go out for dinner, but I saw no harm in the idea of having lunch with a good friend of mine, so I quickly typed back a reply and sent it.

"Hey, Kei." I looked over to my right to see Makoto looking at me.

"Yes?"

"Can you do me a favour?"

"Anything."

"Well…Rei has been acting really weird the past few days and I was wondering if you could talk to him. You always manage to get people to open up."

"Haru mentioned something. He runs away after practice, right?" I recalled what Haru had told me the other night as he made his mackerel.

"Gou thinks that he's in a secret relationship and that he's the type to be weakened by it instead of being strengthen by it like Haru."

"Haru is strengthened by love?" My eyebrow raised at such an odd concept that they had come up with earlier. "But we haven't even said-"

"Of course he's strengthened by it. I don't think he realizes it, but he swims for you too, Kei."

"Huh?"

"I don't know how to explain it…it just feels like that." Makoto said lightly as he looked away from me. I was going to say something, but then Makoto looked back at me and continued to talk, "So can you talk to Rei for us, please?"

"I'll give it a shot, but I can't promise anything." I smiled at him.

"Thanks Kei! You're the best!" I dramatically flipped my hair as I batted my eyelashes at him.

"I know."

* * *

><p>I was walking down the hallway towards my next class when I spotted a familiar glasses wearing boy walking towards me. His face was inside of the book that was in his hand, so I took this opportunity to stand in front of him, so he would bump into me slightly.<p>

"I'm very sorry, oh Kei-san!"

"Hey Rei."

"Are you headed to class?"

"I am, but I wanted to ask you something."

"Of course, what can I do for you?"

"Well everyone is really worried about you recently."

"Why?"

"Because apparently you keep disappearing after practice to go run a few errands and you're being very mysterious I heard."

"Wh-what? Oh no, it's just a few things for my mom. It's nothing to concern yourself with." My eyes narrowed in on Rei as I noticed how he looked a little flustered.

"Are you lying to me?"

"Wh-What?" I leaned a little closer to him as I tried to intimidate him.

"I don't like liars, Rei." I saw him swallow the lump in his throat as he began to pull at the collar of his shirt. His eyes frantically began to look around the hallway – probably trying to find someone to save him.

"I have to get to class. I'll see you later. Bye Kei!" He yelled as he used his track and field skills and ran away from me. As I watched his retreating form I sighed and turned around to head to my next class.

* * *

><p><strong>ALRIGHT! I'LL MAKE YOU A DEAL! IF YOU GUYS GIVE ME FOUR REVIEWS ON THIS CHAPTER THEN I WILL POST UP A CHAPTER EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THIS STORY, GOT IT?! <strong>

**FOUR REVIEWS PEOPLE!**

**SO GET GOING!**

**-xoxo JaminJazzi**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I walked into the Samezuka Academy and began to wander towards the dorm that Sosuke was in. I patiently waited in the lobby for Sosuke to come down to meet me. When the elevator doors opened I saw the familiar mountain walk towards me with his hands pushed deep into his pockets. He walked towards me in his jeans and plain black shirt with his Samezuka jacket over his shoulders.

"Evening, Kei."

"Evening. So where are we going?" I asked him.

"Just a nearby restaurant, but before we go I need to swing by the pool." The two of us began walking out of the dorm and towards the pool.

"Why? Do you need to take a quick dip before we leave? Are you a actual fish?" I teased him as I poked his arm. He laughed slightly at my horrible joke.

"Well if I was I'm pretty sure you would know, but no. I need to give Rin his room key since we're leaving and I don't know what time he'll be back in tonight." As I began to recall what time it was I looked at Sosuke with a confused face.

"What's Rin doing swimming at this time? Does he live in that pool?" We had reached the front doors of the pool and Sosuke opened it for me. I thanked him as we walked in.

"Nope. He's teaching someone."

"Who?" But as soon as I asked my question I saw the answer right in front of me. Rei was on his back with Rin standing beside him.

"Hey, Rin. I brought you your key." Sosuke called out to his closest friend. Rin looked over to see the two of us standing there and waved.

"Thanks, Sosuke and what're you doing here, Kei?"

"Kei-san!" Rei practically yelled as he began to drown before he resurfaced and filled his air with lungs again.

"Just going to dinner, so are you the errand that Rei keeps talking about?"

"Kei, I can completely explain what's going on here." Rei began to move around the pool in a frenzy. I stifled my laugh from how easy it was to make Rei lose his cool.

"It's okay, Rei. I can put two and two together and come out with four. But why not just tell the guys about this?"

"Well…I wanted to surprise them all and when we get new members I want to be able to say that I am their senpai." His head slightly dropped as he explained his reasoning as to learning how to swim the other strokes. I walked over to the side of the pool and reached out for his hand. Rei looked at me quizzically as he gave me his hand to hold.

"They're going to love this surprise, Rei. I promise that I won't tell them, so you better keep up the good work." A smile spread across his face as he looked up at me.

"I will!"

* * *

><p>"Well this is a nice treat, huh?" I smiled at Sosuke as I took another bite of my sandwich.<p>

"Yea it is. We haven't really had any proper time to sit down and catch up again." He replied.

"But this is a little odd though. I never would've pinned you down as the type to want to go for dinner." I laughed.

"Well I'm full of surprises." I smiled at him one more time before taking another bite of my sandwich. "How's Haru?"

"He's good, thanks for asking." I answered.

"He makes you happy, right?"

"Yes he does…that's weird."

"What is?"

"Haru asked me the same question the other night." I recalled the night of the reopening of Iwatobi SC Return.

"Coincidence?"

"Probably."

"What're you two going to do?" I felt my eyebrow raise at his question. It didn't make any sense to me. "After graduation, what're you two going to do?"

"I don't know." I was being honest – I didn't know what was going to happen to Haru and I when we graduated. A part of me always knew that day was going to come, but I didn't want to think about it just yet. The idea of not being with Haru killed me, but to also put Makoto in that equation absolutely devastated me. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Hey, Kei."

"Yes?"

"Do you know what you're going to do? After graduation?"

"I'm going to become a music teacher." I smiled at him.

"Really?"

"What? Do you think I'm bad with kids?"

"Of course not! I just thought that you'd go into the music industry." He laughed as he explained himself.

"Oh…well that's a little risky. You never know if you're going to actually do well and I don't want to put my parents through that, so I'm going to become a teacher instead. What about you?"

"Me? I've been scouted for universities." He answered.

"Really? That's great! So you're going to continue swimming?" I knew that my face had light up when he told me that he was scouted. Sosuke was a fantastic swimmer and I knew that swimming in competitions would fit him perfectly.

"Yea, I am."

* * *

><p><strong>Super short chapter because you guys haven't given me any reviews and that makes me sad! So if you want another chapter next week you better leave me some reviews.<strong>

**-xoxo JaminJazzi**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"You won't believe what Rei has been doing!" Makoto excitedly yelled at me as I joined him and Haru on our way to school.

"What?"

"He's been practicing how to swim other strokes with Rin!"

"That's great."

"You don't sound very surprised…"His sentence trailed off as his gaze focused on me. I tried to ignore him by looking at Haru, but I could feel Makoto's gaze on the back of my head. With a sigh I turned to look at him and smiled.

"I'm not surprised because I already knew."

"What?"

"I saw him practicing with Rin the other night and I promised him that I wouldn't tell you guys about it, but how did you guys find out?"

"We..um…well we followed him."

"You followed him?" I practically shrieked as I looked at him. I glared at Haru, but he looked away from me and towards the sea instead. "You guys shouldn't of followed him. You should've trusted him." I scolded the two boys.

"We're sorry." Makoto apologized on both his and Haru's behalf. "But what about you? How did you find out?"

"I went out for dinner with Sosuke that night." I explained. I stopped walking when I noticed that Haru was no longer beside me. I turned around to look at him, but he had turned his whole body towards the ocean and stared at the vast body of water. "Haru?"

"Come on, Haru. You can swim at the pool." Makoto suggested the idea to Haru, but he didn't move a muscle.

"Makoto."

"Yes?"

"Can you go ahead of us?"

"Huh?"

"We'll be right there, I promise." With my trademark smile flashed towards him he sighed and reluctantly began to walk away. I went over to Haru and examined his face for a few seconds. He was so good at hiding his emotions that it was a challenge to figure out what he was thinking or how he was feeling. "Haru." I lightly said his name as I reached for his hand, but he moved his hand out of my grasp slightly without even looking at me. "What's wrong?"

He continued to ignore me and not answer any of my questions. I huffed and stood in front of him, but he avoided my gaze as he looked over my head to look at his closest friend.

"Look at me, Haru." I sternly said to him. When his eyes finally met mine I mentally clapped at the accomplishment. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He answered.

"Well it's obviously not nothing." We stared at each other for a few seconds before I spoke again, "If you don't tell me what's wrong then I won't be able to fix it." After a few seconds Haru finally threw me a line,

"How long have you known Yamazaki?"

"How long?" He nodded his head slightly as I recalled as to when I first met Sosuke. "I think the first time we met we were five."

"So, you two are close?" He probed deeper into mine and Sosuke's friendship.

"I would hope so." I answered.

"Why didn't you tell me about the dinner?"

"I didn't know that I had to. Is that what's bothering you? That I didn't tell you about the dinner?" As we continued to stare at each other I took his silence as his answer. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, Haru. I'll tell you next time, okay?"

"Okay." My hand reached forward and grabbed onto his as I turned around and began to drag him away from the ocean.

"Now come on, we better get going. We're already going to be late for class." However, that day I noticed that Haru held onto my hand just a little bit tighter than usual.

* * *

><p>As I sat in class I began to stare out of the window. Everything looked so simple and peaceful, but I felt so confused. My mind kept racing back to my conversation with Makoto and I didn't know what I was thinking.<p>

_"__Gou thinks that he's in a secret relationship and that he's the type to be weakened by it instead of being strengthen by it like Haru."_

_"__Haru is strengthened by love? But we haven't even said-"_

_"__Of course he's strengthened by it. I don't think he realizes it, but he swims for you too, Kei."_

I looked forward for a second to look at the back of Haru's head. As I looked back out the window I realized the scariest thing about relationships – you will either marry the person you're dating or you'll break-up. But now was the big question that I needed to answer, how will Haru stay in my life, as my other half or as a friend? Or will the unspeakable happen; will he not be in my life at all?

* * *

><p><strong>Looks like someone is doing a little thinking! What do you guys think? Do you guys want the to stay together? Do you ship them?<strong>

**Leave me a review! :D**

**xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_"__They're good, Haru! I promise!" _

_"__No."_

_"__Come on!"_

_"__No."_

_"__You have to try something new every once in a while."_

_"__No."_

_"__Please?" As Haru looked at me again with his straight face he sighed and finally lifted a cupcake off of the plate I had brought over. I watched as he took a bite out of the soft cupcake and waited for him to say something. He stayed silent as he finished the cupcake before grabbing another one and beginning that one. "Oh Haru, you always seem to do things to the extreme, huh?" I joked as he continued to demolish my homemade cupcakes. _

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_I love this song!" I quickly ran over to the radio and turned up the volume. I looked at Haru and outstretched my hands towards him. "Come dance with me."_

_"__I don't dance."_

_"__I know, but you can give it a shot."_

_"__No." I walked over and pulled him up from his seat on the floor. _

_"__It won't be that bad." I said. With my right hand in his left I placed his right hand on my hip as I placed my left on his shoulder. The two of us began to sway to the music. With the slow song in the background we continued to look into each other's eyes. His ocean blue orbs always mesmerized me, no matter how many times I looked into them. I slightly leaned up and gave him a chaste kiss on his lips before placing my head on his shoulder. "See? It's not that bad coming out of your comfort zone." _

_He moved his hand from my hip and snaked his arm around my lower back as he brought me closer to him. "No, it's not." He whispered as we continued to sway to the music. _

* * *

><p><em>Another sigh escaped my lips as I reached my house. I hadn't seen any of my friends today, or Haru, and I was extremely bothered by that fact since it was my birthday. After throwing my shoes into the closet I trudged up the stairs and straight to my bedroom. When I ripped open my bedroom door and threw on the light I almost had a heart attack because a group of people yelled, "Surprise!" without my knowledge of their presence. I screamed as my hand went straight for my heart to make sure it didn't fly out of my chest at that very second. <em>

_Haru, Makoto, Nagisa, Rei and Gou all stood in my room with big bold smiles as they stared at me. My hands reached up to cover my mouth as I stared at them in shock. _

_"__Happy birthday, Kei-chan!" Nagisa cheered. _

_"__What're you guys all doing here?" _

_"__We're here to celebrate your birthday!" Gou explained. _

_"__It's a surprise party." Rei continued. _

_"__Haru thought of it all by himself." Makoto praised his best friend. _

_"__Really? You did this all for me?" A grin spread across my lips as I looked at my other half. He avoided my eyes as he looked away and shrugged his shoulders. _

_"__It was nothing." After his sentence I ran towards him and wrapped my arms around his neck as I hugged him. After the shock factor wore off he finally wrapped his arms around me and allowed me to properly hug him. I leaned backwards, so I could look at his face before giving him the smallest peck on his lips. As his cheeks began to redden I laughed and turned to look at our friends. _

_"__Thank you all so much!" I cried as I pulled them all towards me, so we could have a group hug. _

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_This is nice, huh? Just the two of us?" Gou asked as we continued to shift through the clothes on the racks in front of us. _

_"__It is. We should do this more often." I commented. _

_"__That's so cute! You should get that top." I was holding up a simple dark green blouse against my chest to see if I liked the way it would, possibly, fit on me. _

_"__You think so?"_

_"__Definitely and Haru-senpai will love it too." At her comment I immediately put the blouse down. A sigh escaped my lips as I looked at the blouse in my hand. _

_"__I do like it, but I think I'll get it for myself."_

_"__Huh?" As I looked at Gou I smiled and my head tilted slightly to the right. _

_"__I only buy things that I love. Besides, I know that no matter what I buy Haru will love it regardless…or he might just not notice." I laughed at my own joke. _

_"__Can you two stop being the cutest couple?" Gou squealed beside me as I laughed even harder._

* * *

><p><strong>I thought this would be a nice filler before shit hits the fan...oh what?! Something is gonna happen? Like what?! Have I said too much? Leave a review telling me what you think is gonna happen! :D<strong>

**-xoxo JaminJazzi**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Nagisa?" My voice sounded groggy as I woke up from my nap on Haru's family room floor. As one hand rubbed my eye I stared at the blonde that was sitting at the table.

"Hey, Kei-chan. What're you still doing here?" He asked me.

"I must've fallen asleep. I should get going though." I stretched my arms above my head and twisted my waist, so my back would crack back into its original position. "What're you doing here though?"

"Haru-chan found me and I'm looking at the Leonids." He explained. As I yawned I stood up and nodded my head.

"Alright then." I walked into the kitchen and looked at the soup Haru was making. He wordlessly passed me a spoon, so I could try the broth. As the warm liquid slipped its way down my throat I looked at him and said, "It needs a tad more salt." After placing it in the pot and giving it a stir it made my taste buds happy. "I'll see you tomorrow, Haru." I leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his cheek before turning around to find Nagisa staring at the two of us with intent eyes.

"You two are the cutest couple!" He squealed. I laughed and dismissed the statement with my hand.

"I'm sure there are cuter, but I must say, we are one of the best looking." I joked as I walked through the family room and opened up the door. "I'll see you boys tomorrow, goodnight."

* * *

><p>Gou constantly sends me photos of Haru and I. Some photos made me extremely happy because they were cute, but others were very unnecessary. I was looking at the latest picture that she had given me and I was pleased with the shot.<p>

It was a picture from my surprise birthday party. Haru had his arms around my waist as he kept me from falling on my back after I had tackled him with a thank you hug. A grin was plastered to my face as I looked up at him and he stared at me with soft eyes and the smallest smile on his lips.

A sigh escaped my lips as I placed the photo back on my peg board and sat down at my desk.

_"__What're you two going to do? After graduation, what're you two going to do?"_

_"__I don't know."_

Like all teenagers in a relationship I wanted to know the answer. I wanted to know what was going to happen to us. Haru and I have been happy and content with our relationship, so I wanted to stay with him. He made me happy and I felt like I made him happy as well. I felt like we complimented each other in a positive way and I didn't want to let that go.

But did he want to let that go? Did he feel the same?

Usually people have said the 'L' word to each other by the time they've reached their one year anniversary, but we haven't. I knew that Haru was special to me, but I didn't know if I loved him. I didn't know any of the signs of being in love, so this whole concept was hard for me to get my head around.

But did he love me?

A sigh of frustrated escaped my lips as I lied down on my bed and groaned.

"Why is everything so complicated?"

* * *

><p>"What do you mean Nagisa has run away?" I yelled as I ran into Haru's house. Haru, Makoto, and Rei all turned their heads to look at me.<p>

"He's run away and none of us know why!" Rei complained.

"Can you talk to him? Please?" Makoto asked.

"Have you guys talked to him yet?"

"Yes and none of us have gotten the reason, so we need you to help us! Please." I sighed as I walked towards the family room door. I slid it open and saw Nagisa sitting in front of the table.

"Nagisa, what's this I hear about you running away?" I asked him as I sat down beside him.

"It's nothing." He pouted.

"Don't say that. You have to give me a reason." He continued to stay silent as he sat there. I reached over and place my hand on his shoulder. He looked at me with a surprised face as I smiled at him. "You can tell us, Nagisa. You're making everyone worry." As he sighed and allowed his head to drop I gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "I'm going to grab the others and you can tell us all what's happened, okay?" Without an answer I got up and waved the three boys into the room.

Makoto and Rei sat beside Nagisa as Haru sat beside Makoto. I sat beside Rei and we all looked at Nagisa with soft eyes.

"What cause you to run away?" Rei asked the blonde.

"You're making Haru, Rei and Kei worry about you. You should at least tell us why you ran away." Makoto told him.

"Nagisa…"

"Mako-chan, Haru-chan…"

"Do you trust us that little?" Rei asked the blonde.

"No!" As Nagisa gripped onto his pants a little tighter he apologized, "I'm sorry for making you guys worry. Yeah, you're right. I'll tell you the truth. I may be forced to quit the swim club."

"Huh?!"

"Why would you…" Rei was trying to fit all the pieces together and this didn't work in his brain.

"To be honest, my test scores have been really bad lately. And my parents really go nuts over stuff like that. So they ordered me to quit the swim club. But of course, I would never agree to do that! That's why I ran away from home."

"But if that's the case, you just need to improve your grades, right?" Makoto suggested.

"That's right! I would gladly help you study! So if we tell your parents that-" Rei offered his assistance.

"Once my parents tell me I can't do something, they'll never allow it."

"But if we just told them clearly-"

"I'm telling you, they just won't listen!"

"Nagisa…"

"But, you can't go on living like this either." Makoto said.

"I understand that, but…"

"Nagisa-kun…were you thinking that if you don't go home, your parents would eventually acknowledge your swimming?"

"Yeah."

"Rei?" Haru was wondering where his teammate was going with this.

"Were you honestly thinking they'd give their approval based on that? If you want their approval, aren't there much better ways to get it? And if you did get their approval using such a method, could you really swim at full strength after that?"

"Rei, just leave it at that." Makoto stated. The sound of a phone went off to break our silence. Nagisa fished out his pink phone and looked at the text message he had received. "What's wrong?"

"It says my mother is coming here to take me home!"

"Huh?"

"Wh-Wh-What do I do?"

"What do you mean, what?"

"We haven't come up with a solution yet!"

"You boys head towards Iwatobi SC Return." I told the four.

"What about you, Kei-chan?" Nagisa asked.

"I'll stay here and get your mom off your scent, but you four better hurry and get a move on." I began to move the four towards the front door, so I could push them all out and have them run for the swim club.

I sat in Haru's family room and waited patiently. I didn't know when Nagisa's mom would be here and I didn't know what to expect when she got here. I had never met the woman in my whole life, so my nerves began to get the best of me when I heard someone knock on the front door.

"Hello, Mrs. Hazuki." I respectfully bowed and greeted the blonde haired woman in front of me. Anyone could tell that Nagisa was a spitting image of his mom. They had the same coloured eyes and both their hair was a beautiful gold. "Please, come inside."

"You must be Haruka Nanase, correct?" She asked me as she stepped inside the house. I shook my head as I introduced myself,

"That's my boyfriend. My name's Kei Mizuko. I'm a good friend of Nagisa's."

"Oh okay. Is Nagisa here? I was told that he is here."

"He's not."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Nagisa loves to swim." I mentally slapped myself for my word vomit. It always came up at the most inappropriate times.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry Mrs. Hazuki, I mean absolutely no disrespect when I say this, but…Nagisa loves to swim and he's really _really_ good. Of course grades are important, I am not saying they aren't, but I am saying that Nagisa is willing to pull up his grades and make you guys proud."

"That's all I want." She simply stated.

"But he also wants to swim."

"Kei, I'm sure that you mean the very best, but I don't think you understand the severity of the situation."

"You're completely right, I don't, but I do know that swimming is everything to Nagisa. I love to sing and I gave up what I loved once and it completely tore me up inside. I would never want Nagisa to feel the kind of emptiness that I felt." She continued to stare at me with a blank expression. I didn't know if what I was saying was getting through to her or if it was just making her angry, but I never did know how to shut my mouth properly. "I sing now and I've never felt more alive, Mrs. Hazuki. Nagisa has a ton of friends who are willing to help him raise his grades, so he can make you proud and to stay in the swim club. I believe in him. I know he can do it."

"What do you want to be?"

"Huh?"

"What do you want to be?" She asked me again.

"A-A teacher." I stuttered out my answer.

"What a shame, we need people like you in the limelight, but a teacher is a good second option. Thank you, Kei Mizuko. I can see why Nagisa calls you such a close friend." She turned around and placed her hand on the front door before looking at me one more time. "I can also see what Haruka Nanase must see in you. Goodnight." And with that she opened up the front door and walked out of Haru's house.

* * *

><p>I felt someone slightly shaking my body. As I began to open my eyes I saw Haru's face in my vision. He stared at me with soft eyes as I began to sit up. As I looked around I noticed that I had fallen asleep on Haru's floor once again.<p>

"I should stop making it a habit to fall asleep here." I muttered to myself.

"What're you still doing here?" He kneeled down in front of me, so we could be at eye level.

"I waited for you to come home, so I could know what happened with Nagisa." I answered.

"We went to see his parents and they agreed to let him stay in the swim club, but he needs to pull up his grades." A drowsy smile spread across my lips as the thought of Nagisa still in in the swim club crossed my mind.

"Good. That makes me so happy."

"What did you say to Nagisa's mom?"

"Hm?"

"Before we left she pulled me aside to talk to me."

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Haruka, I need you to know something."_

_"__Yes?"_

_"__Your girlfriend, Kei, talked to me tonight and I must say, she has a big heart. Please take good care of her, Haruka."_

* * *

><p>"We didn't say much. We just talked about Nagisa and how he should stay in the swim club."<p>

"Really?" I nodded my head as a yawn escaped my lips. As I stretched my arms over my head I looked back at Haru.

"I'm going to head home now, okay?" He nodded his head as he leaned towards me and placed a soft passionate kiss to my lips. As he began to pull away a smile formed on my face as I stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Haru."

* * *

><p><strong>Looks like Kei doesn't know for sure if Haru loves her...what do you guys think? What do you think of the chapter? Leave me a review! :D<strong>

**-xoxo JaminJazzi**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Prefecturals were fast approaching and the boys have been busy swimming. I had a recital last night and was happy to have the support of all my friends and family there. I was walking towards the pool to meet with everyone and see how their training was going.

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><p><em>"<em>_Kei-chan! You were great as per usual!" Nagisa yelled as he ran up to me to wrap his arms around me. I hugged him back and laughed out of excitement. _

_"__Thank you! I'm so happy you're all here." I said as Haru, Makoto, Nagisa, Rei and Gou all stood in front of me. _

_"__I'm just happy you didn't break my eardrums." I heard a snarky comment from behind me. My brows knitted together as I turned around on my heel to see who the person was, but was surprised to see Sosuke standing right behind me. _

_"__Sosuke!" I screamed as I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him. _

_"__You were great, Kei." He smiled at me as I let go of him. _

_"__How did you know about my recital?" _

_"__Your mom kept calling us and telling my whole family that we had to come." I sighed and placed the palm of my hand on my forehead. _

_"__Why can't my parents do normal things?" I asked myself._

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><p>As I got closer to the pool the sound of my cellphone began to ring in my bag. I fished through my bag to pull out my phone and was surprised to see Sosuke's name flashing across the screen.<p>

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Haru?"_

_"__Hm?"_

_"__Is everything okay?"_

_"__Yes."_

_"__Are you lying to me?"_

_"__No."_

_"__Because you've been more quiet than usual."_

_"__It's nothing."_

_"__Please tell me if something's bothering you." He looked at me with an intense gaze that worried me. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what it was. _

_"__You make me happy, Kei."_

_"__What?"_

_"__Do I make you happy?" As my hand placed itself on his bicep I lightly squeezed. _

_"__You make me feel a lot of things, Haru. You make me feel a lot of good things."_

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><p>"Hey, Sosuke."<p>

"Hey, Kei."

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to know if you were going to be at the prefecturals."

"Of course I am! I think the boys would kill me if I wasn't there." I laughed on the phone.

"Oh ya…you'll be supporting them, right?"

"Of course I am! I go to Iwatobi, remember? I'm obviously going to support my school's clubs and my closest friends happen to be on the team as well." I pointed out to Sosuke.

"That's very true, well I just wanted to make sure you were going."

"Are you going to swim?"

"No. Not this time."

"Why not?"

"Maybe for Regionals, okay? Anyways, I have to go. I'll speak to you soon."

"Sure thing." I hung up the phone and slid it back into my bag as I got closer to the pool. When I walked over to the familiar chlorine filled water I smiled and waved at Makoto.

"Kei!"

"Hey! I'm here to see how your training is coming along." I walked over to him and stood beside him. Right now Haru, Nagisa and Rei were all in the pool practicing their specialities.

"It's going good. I think we're ready for prefecturals." Makoto said.

"Good! That's what I want to hear. I want all of you to make it to Regionals."

"We're planning on making it to Nationals this year."

"That's very ambitious." He looked at me with a worried face before I smiled up at my best friend. "I like it!"

"Hey, Kei-chan!" The familiar sound of Nagisa rang through the air as I looked over to him. He was treading water as he yelled over to me.

"Yes?"

"Are you going to wear your Iwatobi cheerleader uniform for prefecturals?"

"What? I thought we discussed this!"

"But Haru-chan said it was fine."

"He said what?" I practically screamed at the top of my lungs. "Haru!" He stopped swimming, so he could look at me. My eyebrows knitted together as I grinded my teeth and crossed my arms over my chest. "What's this I hear about you saying I can wear the Iwatobi cheerleading uniform?"

"I don't know." He simply shrugged as he placed his head back under the water and continued to swim the length of the pool.

"Don't you start swimming on me, Haruka Nanase!"

"It's okay, Kei-chan! You're going to look great in your uniform!" Nagisa cheered from his lane in the pool.

"I am not wearing that damn uniform!"

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><p><strong>Okay this is only super short because you guys haven't given me any reviews for weeks! Come on guys! If I get two reviews on this then I'll post up a chapter every single day! JUST TWO REVIEWS!<strong>

**-xoxo**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Prefecturals are tomorrow."

"I know."

"Are you ready?"

"I guess." My hand lightly played with Haru's soft hair as his head laid in my lap. He looked up at me with soft eyes as I smiled at him.

"Well I think you're going to do great." I said encouragingly.

"I guess." He mumbled as he turned his head away from me and continued to look outside. It was times like these that I wondered what this boy was thinking.

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><p>"Lots of different schools are here this year, too!" Nagisa was impressed by the larger number of schools that were participating in the Prefecturals this year.<p>

"That's a good thing! It means you guys can show everyone how much you've improved." I smiled over to him as I stood beside Haru.

"You're right, Kei-chan!"

"What's wrong, Gou-san?" Rei asked his manager. I looked over to see the redhead with her hands clasped together as she shut her eyes.

"Are you feeling sick?" Haru asked.

"What? Even though you're surrounded by your beloved muscles?" Nagisa questioned.

"You do look a little peaky." I commented.

"I've made a solemn vow." She turned to look at her teammates as she opened up her eyes to look at them. "Until the Iwatobi Swim Club makes it to nationals, muscles are off limits! Even if I see muscles, I won't get all worked up! And if I do get all worked up, I'll suppress it!"

"I don't think that's possible." Rei commented.

"Suppressing things isn't good for your health." Nagisa added.

"Don't strain yourself." Haru said.

"Everyone, to ensure Gou-chan's resolve doesn't go to waste, let's do our absolute best!" Makoto told his teammates. They cheered in unison as Gou sighed in defeat. I laughed and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

"At least you've given them more motivation to do well."

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><p>The day had been going extremely well for Iwatobi. Makoto, Nagisa and Rei all made it past prelims and that was something to be very proud of. As everyone began to have their picnic lunch I went to go find the infamous Sosuke. As I rounded the hallway to the change room I saw him sitting on a bench all by himself in front of the vending machines.<p>

"Why didn't you do butterfly? You told me that you were going to swim." I scolded him as I sat down.

"Hi to you too, Kei."

"Well?" He sighed as he looked at me and looked away again.

"I'm not focused on my individual."

"Then what are you focused on?"

"I'll be doing the relay tomorrow."

"The relay? But I thought you didn't like doing them."

"Something's changed, Kei." He looked at the wall in front of him with a distant look and at that point I knew not to push the subject. I reached over and placed my hand on top of his and gently squeezed it.

"Well I hope you do well tomorrow."

"Shouldn't you be saying that to your own team?" He asked me smugly.

"Don't you worry about us, we'll be great! They're all amazing swimmers, so you better look out." I smiled up at him as he shook his head and placed his hand on top of my head.

"You always were a little cocky." He teased.

"Well you've never complained before so I'm just going to think that you love it."

"Love it?" He looked away from me and back at the wall in front of us as the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "Maybe I do."

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><p>At the end of Day 1 of the Prefecturals Haru won both of his races. I walked home in-between Makoto and Haru as usual as we continued to talk about the day and what lies ahead for the boys tomorrow.<p>

"You guys did great!"

"Thanks Kei."

"Are you guys excited for the relay tomorrow?"

"Yup and we're going to win!"

"You sound like a real captain, Makoto. Oh ya, Sosuke is going to be in the relay tomorrow."

"Yamazaki?" Haru asked. I looked at him and nodded my head.

"Looks like it. He told me today."

"Today?"

"While you guys were having lunch I went to go see him. I was pretty upset that he wasn't doing the butterfly because he told me he was going to be swimming, but then he told me not to worry because he's swimming for the relay." I clarified where I got my information from, but Haru didn't look liked he cared as he turned his head to look forward again.

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><p>During the relay I had never felt my heart jump into my throat so much in the span of a few minutes. It hurt to watch the boys swim so hard, but to fall so short on the win. However, Coach Sasabe was right when he said that we should look positively on the fact that they past the prelims.<p>

It just meant that the boys would have to train harder to make sure they make it to their goal.

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><p><strong>So since you guys did give me two reviews on the last chapter you will now have a new chapter every single day until the story is done! WOOHOO! <strong>

**Anyways, (on to more pressing matters) did anyone catch the little underly with Sosuke? Yes? No? Go have another look if you didn't! Keep a look out for things people! **

**Keep up with the reviewing everyone! :D**

**-xoxo**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Kei!" I turned around to see Miss Amakata running towards me in the hallway. As she reached me she bent forward and placed her hands on her knees for a few seconds so she could catch her breath.

"Miss Amakata?"

"I need to ask you something." She looked at me with a serious face.

"What is it?"

"It's about Haruka."

"What's wrong?"

"Scouts have been calling me, but he doesn't seem bothered. Also, he still doesn't know what he wants to do with his future, so I was hoping that you could talk to him."

"I guess I can give it a shot."

"Thank you, Kei. Now I have to get to my class, but I'll see you later." She waved as she turned around and made her way to her class. I sighed as I continued to walk towards my next class.

"People really need to stop asking me to talk to others."

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><p>"Mom?"<p>

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." I went to stand beside her in the kitchen as she began to get dinner prepared. As she peeled the potatoes I grabbed the knife and began to cut the vegetables.

"You love dad, right?"

"Yes."

"How did you know? That you loved him?"

"Oh Kei…"

"What?" I stopped chopping as I looked at her. She just smiled as she continued to peel the potatoes.

"Your father and I broke up for a bit during university."

"Really?" She nodded her head in confirmation.

"We had been dating throughout high school, like you and Haruka, and we thought that some space would be good for us. I think we lasted about a week before we were calling each other all the time again." She laughed at the memory from her university years. "You see, Kei, love is a weird thing. It's different for everyone. For us it was the fact that we could never be away from each other. It hurt too much to part and all we needed was one week to figure that out. For your grandparents it was the fact that they felt like no one else understood them, but each other."

"Really?"

"Yes. Kei, I can't tell you what love is, but I can tell you that you'll feel it. You'll know when you're in love."

"Are you sure I won't mistake it for like…a stomach ache?" She laughed at my naivety before replying,

"No, you won't. But I will say, I've seen the way Haruka looks at you and that's the way I saw my dad looking at my mom."

"Are you saying he loves me?" I practically shrieked. She laughed at my outburst before calming me down.

"I'm saying no such thing; I'm saying that you're special to him, Kei. I think that's the only reason why your father hasn't thrown him out the nearest window." She joked.

"The sad part is that, he probably would throw him out a window." I sighed out of frustration.

"It's because he loves you."

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><p>After dinner I looked out my window and saw it begin to rain. I had remembered what Miss Amakata asked of me, so I grabbed my umbrella and began to make my way over to Haru's house, but when he didn't answer the door I wondered where he could've gone.<p>

"If I was Haru, where would I be?" I asked myself before the idea popped right into my head. As I made my way to the all too familiar building I began to think about what my mom had said to me before dinner.

I believe the hardest thing to grasp when it comes to emotions is what you're truly feeling. I've never completely known what I was feeling at any point in time and I don't think I ever will, so for my mom to say that I'll know when I'm in love completely threw me off.

But as I continued to walk memories of Haru and I went through my head. Like the time that I got so afraid of a scary movie that Haru held me in his arms until I fell asleep and he let me sleep at his house that night because I was too afraid to go sleep by myself in my bed. Or the time when I had fallen ill and Haru came over during the day and made me chicken soup, so I would feel better.

Many people didn't understand Haru and even then I didn't understand him. He was extremely simple that it was almost too hard to comprehend. However, he continued to surprise me as he opened up a little bit more everyday. I would have never thought that he would openly kiss me in the middle of the mall, but it usually was whenever he wanted something…it was usually my homemade cupcakes. But he continued to mature and change and I was happy that I was a part of that.

When I rounded the corner I saw Haru swimming in the pool. As he began to swim towards me I knelt down and used the umbrella to cover his and mine. He looked up and gave me a confused look.

"What're you doing here?" He questioned.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"But it's raining."

"Thank you, Sherlock. I didn't know it was until just now." I sarcastically said. "Haru."

"Hm?"

"You know you mean a lot to me, right?"

"I know." As I continued to look into his beautiful eyes he slowly leaned upwards and placed a soft kiss on my lips. "You mean a lot to me too."

"You've been kissing me more often now for some reason." I gasped.

"I can stop if you wan-"

"No, no! I never said that, but come on, you should get home before you get a cold." He lifted himself out the pool and I walked beside him towards the area that was protected from the rain.

"Did you come all the way out here to tell me that?"

"No, but it can wait, for a later date."

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><p><strong>This one is longer than the past chapters! Hopefully this made you go 'aww'! Leave me a review telling me if you ship these two together! :D<strong>

**-xoxo**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

I was sitting on my bed looking over some music sheets that our instructor had given us. When the smallest knock was heard from my door I called for the stranger to come in. I looked over and saw Haru open up my door and walk into my room.

"What're you doing here?" I asked him as I placed my sheets off to the side. I turned around, with my legs dangling off the side of the bed, so I could face him.

"I saw Kisumi today."

"Really? How is he? Is he doing well?" Kisumi was an old friend of ours. After middle school we never saw him again, so it was nice that Haru got to see him recently.

"He said that Yamazaki has a shoulder injury." I felt my face turn into complete confusion as I stared at my boyfriend.

"What?"

"He saw him at the hospital and apparently his shoulder was injured. Did you know anything about this?" I completely ignored Haru's question as I got up and shot past him. As I got to my front door I began to slide my shoes on, but I felt someone grab my hand before I ran out the door.

"I'm going to go see what's going on." I turned around to see Haru staring at me.

"Kei, wait-"

"What for? Do you want to come with me?"

"No."

"Then what is it, Haru?" As I waited for an answer Haru continued to stare at me. He wouldn't say or do anything and at that very moment that's not what I needed.

"Nothing." He answered as he looked away from me.

"Then I'll talk to you later." I stated as I turned around, pull my hand free of his, and walked right out of my house.

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><p>My foot tapped on the foyer floor as I waited for the elevator to signal for Sosuke's arrival. When the familiar <em>ding<em> sound rang I looked at the elevator and Sosuke walked out of the elevator doors.

"Kei, what a nice sur-"

"Don't 'Kei' me, you little faker." I growled as he looked at me. As he raised an eyebrow at me he began to talk cautiously.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong with me, but there's something wrong with you!"

"Maybe you shouldn't get upset in the middle of the foyer."

"Why not? Do you not want anyone else to hear about your shoulder?" I asked him, but it was then that I saw Sosuke's appearance change. He grabbed my hand and began to drag me out of the foyer. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to go talk, but not here." He instructed.

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><p>"First of all, you can't go running into the building yelling the building down and secondly, I didn't tell you about my shoulder because I knew you'd react like this." Those were the first words Sosuke said to me as he pushed me into the pool house.<p>

"I didn't start yelling in the building, my voice just raised itself a little bit and that's no excuse! You should've told me from the start." I huffed as I stomped my foot on the ground and clenched my fists.

"How'd you find out?" He asked me.

"Haru."

"Haru? How did he find out?"

"Kisumi. He ran into him the other day or something and Kisumi told him that he saw you at the hospital."

"Damn Kisumi, he never did know when to keep his mouth shut."

"This is not Kisumi's fault, this is your fault, so you better start talking before I push your face into the wall." I threatened one of my closest friends. He sighed as he began to tell me how he hurt his shoulder.

"It was two years ago when I hurt my shoulder. I hurt it from overtraining."

"Two years ago? Then…wait…what about university? What about the scouts?"

"I lied. I'm sorry."

"You lied to me?"

"I know how much you hate lying after-"

"No!" I yelled at him. Sosuke stopped talking as he looked at me. My head hung low as I continued to think of how much pain Sosuke was in and how he didn't tell me anything. I could've helped him. I would've been there for him. "Why did you over train it? How could you be so reckless?"

"I needed to become faster. I needed to be the fastest swimmer."

"And now look! Now look what's happened because of that!" My head shot up as I yelled.

"You think I don't know that?" He yelled at me. "But that's all that was in my mind. I just needed to get faster, so I could swim on an international level! Do you think that if I knew this was going to happen to my shoulder that I would over train as much as I did?" He took a few staggering breaths to calm himself down before he continued. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but I didn't know how to. I was probably going to tell you after Regionals if we didn't make it to Nationals."

"You should've told me from the beginning." I mumbled. Sosuke reached out and placed both of his hands on my shoulders.

"I know and I'm sorry I didn't. I didn't lie to you…I just withheld the truth." My hands raised and I covered my face. I felt Sosuke wrap his arms around me as he held me against his chest. "Sometimes people lie to protect those around them, Kei." Sosuke whispered. My hands came down from my face as I wrapped my arms around him.

"But he still left me."

"I know, but you have to understand that, sometimes people lie to not hurt that person."

"I know."

"Do you forgive me?" I looked up at him. As his teal eyes met mine I felt the familiar feeling of a friend in front of me. Someone who I could always run to when I was upset or someone to bring me back to reality every once in a while.

"Always." I smiled at him as I pushed my face back into his chest.

"Kei?" I looked up and noticed how dangerously close my face was to Sosuke's. His eyes were such a magnificent colour that any girl could get lost in. "I only want the best for you." His right hand reached for my cheek. He moved a strand of my hair behind my ear as he cupped my cheek. "You know that, right?"

"Of course."

"Then…why Haru?"

"Huh?"

"You deserve so much in life. Is he going to give that to you?"

"We're still young, Sosuke. I don't want to think about that right now." I answered. "Where's all this coming from, Sosuke?" I waited for him to answer my question, but he continued to look at me. I felt like he was looking at my whole being and I waited patiently for him to say whatever was on his mind. He only gave me a small smile before answering my question.

"I just want him to treat you the way you deserve to be treated, Kei."

"He does, Sosuke. He makes me incredibly happy." Sosuke placed my face in his chest again as he hugged me a little tighter. I felt him place a soft kiss on the top of my head and I didn't say a word. This was a moment where I knew I shouldn't say anything, but I just needed to hold him. I needed him to know that I was there for him.

"He doesn't know how lucky he is. He really doesn't." Sosuke mumbled against my hair, but I just tightened my grip on him.

He needed to know I was there.

He needed to know that I care.

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><p><strong>Not much Haru and Kei in this one, but more of a Sosuke and Kei one. What do you think? I wonder who made her hate lying so much? Leave me a review with your thoughts! <strong>

**-xoxo**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_"__Why didn't you tell me?" I ran into the dining room with tears in my eyes that were threatening to spill over. _

_"__Kei what're you-"_

_"__Uncle Daiki! He's sick and you didn't tell me." _

_"__You have to calm down-"_

_"__No! Why didn't you tell me? I want to see him!" My dad got up from his seat to kneel down in front of me. The tears in my eyes began to roll down my cheeks like a waterfall, but I didn't care. At that moment all I wanted was answers. _

_"__You have to calm down."_

_"__Is that why he left? Because he's sick?"_

_"__He'll get better soon-"_

_"__He has cancer, dad! You lied to me about why he left. He lied to me. You all lied to me!" I screamed as I felt my knees give way. I landed on the floor and continued to sob in front of my parents. "I love my Uncle! I don't want him to die." I felt my father wrap his arms around me as he pulled me into his chest. _

_"__Neither do I, Kei. Neither do I." He whispered as the idea of his brother passing away in just a few months terrified him to no end._

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><p>"Kei!" I turned around to see Miss Amakata running towards me once again. When she reached me my eyebrow raised slightly as she began to take deep and staggered breaths to catch her breath.<p>

"Maybe you should stop running, Miss Amakata." I suggested.

"I'm fine. I did want to ask you if you got a chance to talk to Haruka yet?"

"No I haven't, why?"

"Everyone is worried about him."

"Why?"

"His swimming is a little different for some reason. Rei noticed. He said that it isn't how he usually swims. Maybe you should come to today's practice to see."

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><p>"Kei! What're you doing here? You haven't been here in a while." Makoto greeted me as I stood by the side of the pool.<p>

"I was told that something's bothering Haru." I said.

"That's what we're all thinking. Did something happen between you two?"

"Nope." I continued to watch my other half swim in the pool in front of me. I noticed what Rei noticed. It wasn't so much as his form that was different, but it was his passion. Whenever Haru swam you could feel the passion radiate off of him, but this time it didn't. It almost looked mechanical.

"What do you think is wrong?" Makoto asked me.

"I don't know, Makoto. I really don't know." I answered.

* * *

><p>I sat in Haru's family room as usual while he was in the kitchen making himself mackerel. I didn't know how to ease into the conversation with Haru, so I decided to just go for it.<p>

"Haru."

"Hm?"

"Is something wrong?" He was silent for a few seconds before he answered me,

"No."

"Haru."

"Hm?"

"Come sit here for a second." I waited for him to walk towards me and sit down at the table. He sat across from me and stared at me with a bored expression. "Miss Amakata came to me the other day asking me if we could talk about what you're planning on doing after graduation." Haru stayed silent as he looked at me. "You know that I would never push you to do anything you wouldn't want to do, but even I'm a little worried about your future."

"Why?"

"Because graduation is coming and you should know what you want to do next year."

"Free."

"Haru."

"That's what I want, free."

"That's great, but free won't pay for your bills in the future, Haru." It was almost like a staring contest between the two of us. Haru didn't say anything as he stared at me and I didn't know what to say. "You have options, Haru. At least have a think about it."

"Why?"

"Because it's important. You have to know where you're going to be next year and what you're going to do."

"Why?"

"Why? Because we need to know what's going to happen next year."

"Huh?"

"I need to know-"And that's when it hit me. As I stared at Haru I knew what my mom was talking about in that very moment. Love. It finally made sense. "Never mind."

"Kei." I didn't realize that I wasn't looking at Haru until he called my name. I looked up to him and saw him look at me with soft features.

"Yes?"

"Do you think about what's going to happen to us, too?"

"Huh?"

"You said that I make you happy and that I'm special to you, right?"

"Yes."

"But what about Yamazaki?"

"Sosuke?"

"You go to see him all the time, right? Is he special to you too?" My brain began to slowly put the pieces together. It took me a while to realize what Haru was asking me, but when I did I got up from my spot and walked over to him. He turned his body, so I could sit in front of him. I took his hands in mine as the softest smile came to my lips.

"It isn't just your future that's been bothering you the past couple of days?" Haru didn't answer me. He just stared at me as I continued to talk. "Yes, Haru, Sosuke is special to me, but so is Makoto, Nagisa, Rei and Gou. Even Rin is special to me too. You're all a part of me, but you Haru, mean so much to me. I don't think I could put it in words."

"But Yamazaki makes you happy, right?"

"Yes, Haru, he does, but he's one of my closest friends. He has always been one of my closest friends, so of course he makes me happy, but not like you. No one can compare to you, Haru." I knew that that was enough talking for now. I noticed Haru's eyes soften even more as the smallest smile spread across his lips as he realized that he was the only man in my life. I leaned forward and gently pressed my lips against his, but that was the time when Haru pressed his harder against mine – turning a sweet kiss into a passionate one. As I pulled away I smiled at him, "I'm too busy being yours to fall for somebody new."

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><p><strong>Aww! Isn't that cute? Leave me a review! :D<strong>

**-xoxo**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Regionals were almost here for the Swim Club. In just a few days it would be time for them all to compete on a bigger scale than just Prefecturals.

The sun had set and the moon had risen, but the boys were still in the pool practicing.

"I don't need you boys coming out looking like prunes, you know?" I said as I walked over to Makoto, Nagisa and Miss Amakata.

"Kei-chan!" Nagisa greeted me.

"What're you doing here, Kei?" Miss Amakata asked me.

"I wanted to drag Haru home, but it looks like I have to drag all of you home." I sighed. "What are you guys doing here so late for anyways?"

"We want to use every moment we can to swim." Makoto said.

"The more we practice our exchanges, the better we'll perform." Nagisa added.

"Practice your exchanges?" Miss Amakata asked.

"That's right. Our only chance at surpassing the top schools is by shaving off enough time from our exchanges. We need to learn how to anticipate the timing of the person before us, so that we're already starting to move into our dives by the time they reach the platform. We'll ideally have zero seconds between touch and dive." Makoto explained.

"That's a huge risk, Makoto." I stated the obvious to the brunette.

"But if you cut the timing that close, what if you dive in before the touch?" Miss Amakata asked.

"They'll be disqualified." I answered her question.

"But we can't let ourselves be afraid of that." Nagisa said.

"If we can master this timing, we can cut our time down further." Makoto said.

"Oh, you're still practicing at this hour?" The voice of a man was heard from behind us. Everyone stopped what they were doing to see who was standing by the entrance of the pool.

"The guidance counsellor?"

"And the principal, too? W-We're sorry! We were just getting ready to leave!" Miss Amakata began to apologize to the principal.

"No, no. You're fine!" The guidance counsellor waved his hand.

"More importantly, Nanase-kun." The Principal called out Haru's name. Haru swam over to the edge of the pool to look at the head of the school. "We hear that scouts have been contacting you. That's very impressive! You're the pride of our school. We're all looking forward to your performance at Regionals. Give it your all!" Haru's head dropped slightly as he muttered his reply,

"Okay."

* * *

><p>It was the night before the Swim Club were going to head to Regionals and Haru and I decided to celebrate our first year anniversary a few days early because we didn't know what was going to happen at Regionals and if it was going to be a good result or not.<p>

Haru opened up the door and let me inside his house. I followed him into the family room and fished the small box from my jacket pocket and placed it on the table.

"I know we promised not to get each other gifts because we're not that kind of couple, but I just really think this one year is pretty special." I mumbled to him. Haru didn't say anything as he walked over to one of the shelves in the room and took off a blue box from the shelf and placed it beside my white box.

"I had a feeling you were going to buy something." He said. I sat down at the table and Haru sat beside me. Neither of us reached for the boxes, but we just sat there and stared at them.

"And what if I didn't buy you anything?" I questioned.

"I still would've given it to you." He answered. "Open it." I reached over the table to grab the blue box. I slowly peeled off the lid until I saw a beautiful blue charm bracelet. The band was an ocean blue and the clasp with a sterling silver. A few of the charms were a dolphin, a starfish, some sterling silver spacers in-between with intricate designs and an anchor as well. I slowly placed it on my right wrist and admired the bracelet against my skin. I looked at Haru and smiled as I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Thank you! I absolutely love it."

"I'm happy you do." I then grabbed my box for him and handed it to him.

"Open it." I watched as Haru slowly peeled back the white lid until he saw a deep blue coloured nautical bracelet. The bracelet connected to a sterling silver anchor. "Turn it around." Haru did as I asked and he turned the anchor over. On the other side I had 'I refuse to sink' engraved.

"Thank you." Haru said softly. As I looked at him he gave me a soft smile as he nodded his head.

"Do you like it?" I asked.

"I do." He placed it on his right wrist as well and admired it for a few seconds.

"We're matching." I commented as I placed my wrist besides his and saw the two bracelets beside each other.

"Kei?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still want to be a singer?"

"Sometimes, but I know that it wouldn't be fair on my family. The thing is, I would be happy being a producer because it's music I love, not the fame and the parties. But I don't mind becoming a music teacher. Sure, it's not my dream, but I love kids and I still get to make music."

"So you don't mind?"

"Not really, why?"

"It's nothing."

"Are you trying to figure out what you're going to do after graduation?" Haru didn't answer me. He never answered those kinds of questions because he didn't have the answer or he had too many thoughts in his head. I took his hand in mine and gave it a soft squeeze. "You'll know the answer one day, Haru. Just follow your heart. Trust the water. I know it gives you all the answers."

* * *

><p><strong>I quite like their simple relationship, but that might just be me...I might also be a little bias...Leave me a review! :D<strong>

**-xoxo**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"I had to wake up so early to get here." I complained as I met up with Gou in front of the venue.

"But at least you made it in time! Let's get inside, they're all waiting in the bleachers." I walked beside Gou through the stadium and to the bleachers where the Swim Club was waiting.

"Did they all get a goodnight sleep?" I asked.

"I think so."

"Did they all eat a proper breakfast?"

"Yes."

"Did they stretch already?"

"They did a few, but they'll probably do more when it gets closer to their time."

"Did they-"

"Are you the manager or am I?" Gou laughed as she noticed my nerves for the boys. I awkwardly laughed as I continued to follow her.

"Sorry, I'm just kind of nervous…I guess." I was telling the truth, I was extremely nervous for them, but it was Haru that I was worried about the most, but I couldn't say anything to anyone.

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Haru?" _

_"__Kei?" As I rolled over in my bed I saw my digital clock tell me the time. I groaned as I noticed that Haru had woken me at an ungodly hour. _

_"__It's 3AM, why are you calling me?"_

_"__I just needed to hear your voice." At that single statement I felt my breath get caught in my throat as my heart began to pound in my chest. _

_"__Haru…"_

_"__Are you coming tomorrow?"_

_"__I wouldn't miss it for the world."_

_"__Good."_

_"__Haru, is something wrong?"_

_"__It's nothing." I sighed at his answer. He never did want to talk about his feelings. He would rather have you do all the talking, so he wouldn't have to._

_"__You need to go to sleep, Haru. You're swimming tomorrow and you need to make sure you're in top form." _

_"__Okay, I'm sorry for waking you."_

_"__It's okay, I don't mind…that much."_

_"__Goodnight, Kei."_

_"__Goodnight, Haru."_

* * *

><p>"Kei-chan!" Nagisa yelled as I walked over to everyone with Gou.<p>

"Good morning. I hope you're all ready to kick some ass."

"Of course I am. I slept like a baby last nigh." Rei announced as he pushed his glasses up his nose as usual.

"That's what I like to hear."

"It's finally time!" Nagisa cheered in his seat.

"I'm getting nervous." Rei said.

"Don't be nervous, Rei. Just swim your very best, okay?" I reassured him of his swimming abilities as he nodded his head.

"What's wrong, Haru?" Makoto asked his closest friend.

"Nothing." He answered. At that moment some other students from Iwatobi showed up and explained that they had come to cheer the team on. I didn't pay attention since all my focus was on Haru.

"It's just about time." Rei announced as he stood up from his seat, Nagisa following after him.

"Let's go, Haru-chan!" Nagisa called out to his teammate.

"Go get 'em, guys!" Gou cheered her swimmers on.

"Right!" As they all stood up form their seats they placed their hands in the middle of the circle they formed.

"Then, let's each do the best we can and stay focused!" Makoto encouraged his teammates like a good captain should.

"Yeah!" As they finished they began to walk away from us to head down to the locker rooms, but I quickly got off my seat and ran after them.

"Haru!" I called his name in the middle of the tunnel. He turned around and stopped in his tracks, so I could catch up to him. The three other boys all turned around and gave me a confused look. I waved at them as I said, "Don't worry! I won't keep him long."

"Come on, let's leave the two lovebirds alone." Nagisa grinned as he pulled his remaining teammates away with him. I waited for them to walk around the corner before I looked up at Haru and smiled.

"Haru, I need you to do something for me. I need you to swim." Even though his facial expression didn't change much you could tell that he was a little surprised by my words as his eyes widened slightly. "Don't think about the scouts, universities, colleges, graduation or any of that stuff. I just want you to swim, Haru. Can you do that, for me? Can you just swim because you want to?" He nodded his head as he looked at me.

"I'll try."

* * *

><p>Makoto's race was before Haru's and sadly he didn't make it to the finals with his time. Regionals was a tough place and we were all learning that first hand as we continued to watch swimmers compete to get into the finals.<p>

When it came to Haru's race I felt my fingers intertwine together and my new bracelet rubbing up against my other wrist. I waited for them to start patiently, but as Haru got onto the platform and readied himself to begin I could feel myself hold my breath as I watched.

He dove into the water as normal and a part of me was pleased, but another part of me knew not to celebrate just yet. As everyone began to ease into their front crawls you could see Haru's speed gradually become slower. Until halfway through the lane Haru began to stop swimming. As he stood up in the pool his head hung low before he looked up to the ceiling and at that very moment I felt my heart break for him.

* * *

><p>As soon as Haru climbed out of the pool I began to run down the tunnels and down the stairs to find the locker room that he was in. I wanted to see him. I <em>needed<em> to see him. All I felt in that moment was the urge to wrap my arms around him and tell him that it'll all be okay, but as I saw Rin turn into one of the locker rooms I heard his ferocious yell,

"Haru!" I reached the door as I saw Rin grab onto Haru's arm as his back was up against the lockers. "What do you think you were doing? Why the hell did you do that?"

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Like hell it doesn't! This was an important match with all the scouts watching!"

"What do I care about that? Because scouts were watching? So I can set records in front of a crowd? None of that is what I swim for."

"Then what do you swim for?" I felt the presence of people standing behind me, but I blocked them with my arm. This was something that shouldn't be interrupted and I knew that. Haru needed to say how he felt and I knew this was the only way to get it out of him.

"I swim for myself, my friends and Kei!" As I heard the slight gasps from behind me I knew that the people behind me were the three boys that completed the Swim Club.

"Then swim for those friends, Kei and for your own sake. Don't you understand what you do out there is going to impact your future?" Rin's voice sounded agitated as he grabbed onto Haru's other arm. "Don't you have a dream? Take this more seriously! I know you could-" And that's when it happened. That's when Haru raised his voice for the very first time and instead of being afraid I was sad. He lifted his arm free of Rin's grasp as he slammed his fist on the locker to grab his attention.

"You're the one who doesn't understand! What dream? What future? It's you who cares about all of that! I'm not you! I don't have any of that!" Rin became a statue of pure shock at that point. His arms had fallen limp to his sides as he held a surprised look on his face. Haru turned around and began to walk towards the door until he stopped in front of his audience.

"Haru…"

"Haruka-senpai…"

"You guys were in here?" He asked us. He lowered his head slightly out of shame as he realized that we had heard him just then before he looked back at us. "It's okay. Nagisa, Rei. Makoto. I'll swim the relay with you. That's what I've come so far for." He looked at me with soft eyes before saying, "Kei, I'll swim."

* * *

><p>I waited patiently with the rest of the supporters for Iwatobi's Swim Club in the bleachers. Gou never asked me what had gone on when I found Haru and I was glad she didn't. Rei and Nagisa didn't make it to finals with their times and everything almost seemed to go down hill without any warning, so I waited for the relay. As I clasped my hands together over the bar I knew that something had to give. Something had to happen.<p>

"They're coming." Gou said beside me. I looked up and saw the final round of the medley relay walk out and towards their lanes. I squinted slightly to see that Sosuke's shoulder was a vibrant red since the muscle was clearly swollen underneath the skin. I gripped the bar with my hands a little tighter since I knew Sosuke was about to swim with his shoulder that was clearly not able to function properly.

_"__I need you to make me a promise, Kei." _

_"__What is it?"_

_"__Don't tell Rin, please? I can't have him find out before Regionals." I stayed silent as I stared up at Sosuke. His eyes were pleading with me to keep his secret from his best friend, but I shook my head. _

_"__If he asks me if something's wrong then I'll tell him – I will not lie to him. However, I will not run up to your room right now just to tell him." I stated my position on the matter. _

_"__Thank you, Kei."_

I began to think that it was all my fault for his shoulder to get so bad. If I had told Rin sooner then Sosuke wouldn't have to push himself right now, but I shook my head to get those thoughts out of my brain. Sosuke could make his own decisions and he decided to do this. I needed to be his friend and support his decision.

As Makoto readied himself we all waited for the signal gun to go off, so he could begin swimming. As soon as the swimmers went into the water it was clear that Samezuka's Momo had already pulled ahead of him.

"No…Makoto-senpai's true speed lies in his stroke. In terms of stroke speed, Makoto-senpai tops him." Gou told us. Makoto began to pull ahead of Momo with his stroke. As we watched to see who would touch the wall first after the turn it was almost simultaneously. Nagisa didn't wait to jump into the water as fast as he could though. "Nagisa-kun did a perfect exchange!"

"Their practicing has paid off." I said. Because of Nagisa's swimming ability he pulled in front of Samezuka almost immediately all the way up to the turn, but by the time they made it back to the wall Ai had caught up to Nagisa and they both touched the wall at the same time again. Even with Nagisa's lead, Sosuke quickly caught up to Rei as the butterfly leg of the race began.

"He's widening his lead." Miss Amakata narrated what was going on in the pool. Sosuke had caught up to Rei and it was true that he was surpassing him. However, after the turn Sosuke began to struggle in the water for a moment as you saw his head go under the water longer than usual, but as fast as his head had gone under water it came back up again and he continued to swim at full speed towards the wall. Rei and Sosuke both hit the wall, but Rei was slightly earlier than Sosuke, so Haru did another perfect exchange and jumped right into the water with Rin following him. Rin and Haru were battling it out in the pool as they continued to swim faster and faster. The pair managed to hit the turn at the same time and blasted off to head for the finish line. As everyone waited to the scoreboard to light up who the winner was after they placed their hands on the wall everyone was silent. Then I felt the loudest cheer peel itself out of my throat as I saw the glowing red 1 beside our schools name.

"They're going to nationals!" I cheered with Gou and her friends as we began to bounce up and down out of excitement.

* * *

><p>We waited outside of the venue for the boys to emerge and as soon as they did I wrapped my arms around the four of them and gave them a group hug.<p>

"I'm so proud of you guys! You guys have worked so hard and I'm so happy this has happened for you all."

"Kei-chan…" I looked over to Nagisa and waited as a smile came to his face as he stared at me. "Are you going to cry?" He teased me. I quickly let them go and began to rub my eyes. I was going to cry, but they were tears of happiness for the four boys who dedicated so much time to their club.

"I just got something in my eye." I mumbled as I rubbed my eye and they all laughed at me since they knew I was clearly lying.

* * *

><p><strong>A nice long chapter for you guys! I hope you all like it! Leave me a review! :D<strong>

**-xoxo**


	16. Chapter 16

"Kei, can you congratulate the Swim Club?"

"You're so lucky to be dating someone who's going to Nationals."

"Was their relay cool to watch?"

"Tell them congratulations for me!"

"Why are they congratulating me because of you guys?" I complained as I sat down on the bench by the pool. Gou came and sat down beside me as she placed her clipboard in her lap.

"Looks like you really are our honorary member." She smiled and laughed at me.

"Well I'm still happy about it. They made it to Nationals after all." I said as I crossed my arms behind my head and looked up at the light blue sky with its white cotton candy clouds.

"Hey, Kei." I looked over to Gou to see her looking at her teammates that were swimming their laps in the pool in front of us.

"What's up?"

"Haruka-senpai has been acting really odd recently and everyone has noticed that his swimming has changed again." I turned my head to look back at the sky.

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"Maybe you can talk to him? The last time you did it helped, so maybe if you try again-"

"Nope."

"Huh?"

"I know what's bothering him and talking about it won't fix the problem. Just let him work it out by himself. Haru's a smart guy, he'll figure it out."

* * *

><p>"Kei! It's time for dinner!" As soon as my mother yelled for me down the stairs I shot out of my chair and bolted down the stairs towards the table.<p>

"You've been here for dinner all this week so far!" Kaiya was shocked at the fact that I was at home instead of at Haru's house.

"Did you and Haru-chan break up?" Kaito asked.

"No we didn't. He just needs to figure a few things out, so I decided to let him figure it out by himself." As my mom set the food down on the table she looked at me and asked,

"Are you sure that's wise?" I nodded my head as I smiled.

"I know it is. This is something he needs to figure out – no one else can figure it out for him."

"I am ready for dinner and to spend time with my lovely family!" My father yelled as he walked into the room.

"You didn't have to yell…" Kaiya said.

"And maybe we don't want to spend time with you." Kaito made a snide remark.

"How can you two be so mean to your loving father? I've done so much for you!" He complained as he sat down in his seat beside mom.

"Please don't cry at the dinner table. If you want to then I suggest you go outside." My mom added.

"Even my own wife as turned against me?" He looked at my mom with a shocked expression. "What about you, my precious flower? Have you turned against me too?" My father directed his question to me. I sighed as I picked up the octopus on my plate.

"You threatened to throw Haru threw a window the last time he was here." I reminded him of the threat he gave to my other half.

"That's because he is a boy and you two are too serious at such a young age!" He yelled from across the table.

"What about you and mom? You two started dating when you were my age, remember?" I retorted.

"That's different."

"How?"

"Because it is!"

"That's not a real answer…"

"Just eat your food." We all watched as my dad started to shove food down his throat to avoid the conversation.

"Now you've made him mad." My mom sighed.

"I'm not mad!" My dad yelled through a mouth full of rice.

"Looks like I'm going to have to hide the ice-cream tonight." My mom added since she didn't want her husband to eat his sorrows away again.

"No! Don't hide the ice-cream!"

* * *

><p>"Dad, let me go."<p>

"But Kei!"

"I said, let me go!" I yelled as I continued to try and push my dad off of me. My whole family decided to go to the Odon Festival together, but since Haru, Makoto, Nagisa, Rei and Gou had come as well I wanted to spend some time with them also.

"Stop! That hurts!" My dad complained as my mom grabbed onto his ear and peeled him off of me and dragged him away with my two other siblings.

"We'll see you back at the house, Kei! Don't stay too long!" She yelled over her shoulder to me.

"I won't!" I yelled back before turning around and walking towards the place where I was going to meet everyone. I saw the familiar heads of Nagisa and Rei and ran towards them. "Nagisa! Rei!" They turned around and smiled at me as I approached them.

"Kei-chan!"

"How're you guys?" I asked them.

"We're good." Nagisa answered.

"But Haruka-senpai…" Rei's head lowered slightly as his sentence trailed off.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"We told Haru-chan how we really felt and…" Nagisa avoided my gaze as he couldn't finish his sentence.

"He left." Rei finished.

"What?"

"Mako-chan went after him." Nagisa said.

"Where did they go?" Rei pointed to the stone stairs that were behind the pair and I excused myself to walk up them. I continued to go higher and higher up the stairs since I knew exactly where Haru would go. He would go somewhere where he could see the ocean. He liked going to high heights because he could see everything. It was quiet and he could think in peace without anyone disturbing him, but he was going to be disturved tonight. When I got closer to my destination I stopped because I heard familiar voices talking.

"If you truly want to stay as you are, I won't say anything. But…if it's just that you can't find a dream for yourself, I…would want you to find one." The sound of Makoto's voice floated through the air to me.

"You want me to find one? Is that really something you can find just by looking for it?" Haru asked.

"Well…"

"Forget it. I'm done talking about this."

"Wait."

"Let go!" Haru yelled. I took a few more steps up the stairs slightly until I heard Makoto speak,

"Listen to me!"

"However many time I listen, it's the same! You can't find a dream just by looking for one! I'm fine with the way things are!"

"You're lying! The truth is, you want to find a dream, too! You should find that dream, and go flying into the outside world to follow it! You have the ability to do that!"

"Even you're talking like this? Where I swim and who I swim for…I'm free to decide that for myself! And I'm fine with the way things are!"

"But you're not fine! You're not fine! That's why we're telling you all this! Nagisa and Rei and Rin and Kei and me…it's because we all love you. Because we care about you. Why can't you understand that? We want you to find your dream…to look to the future…"

"Makoto…" My whisper cracked as I listened to Makoto and Haru.

"All you ever do is meddle with everyone! Stop sticking your nose in everyone else's business! A dream? A future? Well, what about yours? Stop going on about other people's futures when you haven't even decided your own! Well, say something." I took a few more steps up the stairs until I saw Makoto and Haru facing each other. Makoto had a firm grip on Haru's wrist as Haru's shoulders rose and fell as he breathed. Makoto let go of Haru's wrist as he began to talk,

"I have decided. I'm…going to a university in Tokyo." The first firework of the night shot up into the sky and light it up, but instead of enjoying it our whole group was flipped upside down in that very moment. "I meant to tell you sooner, but I just couldn't find a way to say it. I…"

"Do whatever you want!" Haru yelled before he turned on his heel and ran away from Makoto.

"Haru!" As Makoto reached out for him he was too late because he had already bolted down the stairs.

"M-Makoto…" He turned his head to look at me and saw me standing there with my hands clenched to my chest.

"Kei…" But before he could say anything to me I had turned around and began walking down the stairs I had walked up.

* * *

><p><strong>I wonder where Kei is going...hmmm...any thoughts? Leave me a review! :D<strong>

**-xoxo**


	17. Chapter 17

My hands shook as I grabbed a hold of the doorknob in front of me. I knew it was unlocked and I knew that I could run right in, but I didn't think this whole thing through, but no one ever does when they are running on emotions and adrenaline. I ripped the door open and stepped inside.

"Haru!" I yelled. I went to the family room and saw that he wasn't there. He wasn't in the kitchen. He wasn't in the bath, so I went to the last place. Once I ripped open his bedroom door I saw him sitting on his bed with his head hung low. "How dare you!" He raised his head, so he could see me and his eyes widened at the sight of my presence. I was huffing and puffing as I stood in front of him and I knew that tears continued to run down my cheeks without warning.

"Kei…"

"How dare you say all those things to Makoto! All he was trying to do was help you! So was Nagisa and Rei and you turned your backs on them! Why, Haru? Why?" I screeched. My hand were balled into fists and held at my sides as I glared at him.

"Because you all have a dream and I don't!" He yelled at me.

"And you're going to take that out on the people who care about you? That's how you're going to deal with this? Will that help you get any closer to your dream?"

"What would you know? You're giving up your dream!"

"Because I decided that! I decided that making my family proud and living a stable life was more important than making music!"

"Why do you care?"

"Excuse me?" I was taken back by his question.

"You're going to leave me next year when you go to university and you'll find someone new, so why do you care?"

"H-How could you say that…" That thought never crossed my mind. I never wanted to leave Haru and find someone else. I wanted to stay with him and only him.

"Because it's true!"

"That would never happen…"

"Yes it will!"

"No it won't because I love you!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. It was the first time I uttered those words out loud and they came flying out of my mouth at top speed. "I'm in love with you Haruka Nanase." I whispered to him.

"Kei…"

"But you're too stupid to see that!" I cried before turning on my heel and running out of his bedroom.

"Kei, wait!" But I didn't stay to hear what he had to say as I ran out of his house and towards my home.

* * *

><p>"Why would you say that?" Makoto asked me as we sat on the roof of the school with our lunch.<p>

"Because of how he treated you guys, it wasn't right." I answered.

"Kei…there was no point in you two getting into a argument too." I shook my head at his statement.

"I don't care. I know he's confused right now and that we should be supporting him, but he's being completely ridiculous."

"So…you told him you loved him."

"I don't want to talk about it." My head hung low as I remembered screaming those three precious words to him and he didn't say it back.

"And did he say it back?" I didn't answer. I just continued to eat my bento in peace.

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Did you and Makoto have a fight? Maybe you and Kei?" Haru tensed up at Rin's question since he was bang on. "Bingo, huh? What happened?"_

_"__Nothing." Haru didn't want to talk about it. He was still trying to get his head around the events that had happened just a few nights before. _

_"__Sosuke and I fight all the time."_

_"__It was my…first fight and Kei…"_

_"__Did you say something to upset her?" Rin looked at Haru with worried eyes, but Haru continued to stare at the soft sand that he was sitting on._

_"__She…said something." It took a few moments for Rin to put the pieces together, but when he did he just turned away from Haru and looked at the sea again. _

_"__I see."_

* * *

><p>"Why did he go to Australia?" My mom asked me.<p>

"Because Rin took him there." I answered.

"Why? What's he going to find in Australia?"

"I don't know…maybe it's just good that we have a little space." I could almost hear the smirk on my mom's face as she made a comment,

"You're just like us, huh?"

"Just like who?" My father yelled as he barged into the family room.

"No one." My mom answered.

"Well you said something."

"Were you eavesdropping?" I asked him.

"Do you really want to know what we were talking about?" My mother asked him. He nodded his head as his answer and my mom stood up before she yelled, "We were talking about how you haven't taken me to Australia yet and Haruka is already there before me! Do you not love me anymore?"

"Do you think I can buy a plane ticket with love?" My father yelled.

"You would do anything for me if you truly loved me…"My mom began to make sniffling sounds and I shook my head. She was about to start 'crying' to make my father squirm in her hand.

"Oh please don't cry! Honey bunches, please don't cry!" I stood up from my spot and began walking out of the room.

"I'm going to leave before this gets anymore weirder."

* * *

><p><em>As Haru laid in bed his eyes wandered to the blue bracelet around his wrist. Kei's words continued to circle around the boy's brain as he tried to put the pieces together. His future looked dark and scary and almost like it was non-existent. With the pressures of everyone around him, and the thought that everyone was moving on without him, was terrifying. Could he really find his dream by just looking?<em>

_And then there was Kei. She was loud mouthed, sarcastic, hot-tempered, but she still managed to make anyone around her smile. She managed to put everyone before herself and never expected anyone to notice that she did. She was giving up her dream for her family, but she couldn't be happier about it. Those three little words repeated themselves over and over in the black haired boys head and he didn't know what to do. Did he feel the same way? Was this love? How would he know?_

* * *

><p>I lied on my bed and had my charm bracelet in my hands. I didn't know what Haru was doing and it was a little weird for me. We've always known what the other was doing for our entire lives, which made this separation almost too hard to bare. As I held the dolphin charm in-between my fingers I thought of Haru.<p>

He has always had a thing with dolphins. Like the one Makoto gave him when they were kids at the Iwatobi Swimming Center or the poster of the dolphin on his wall in his bedroom. Haru was peaceful like the dolphin – he never wanted any confrontation (he was always more passive-aggressive) and he wasn't overly competitive like Rin. Haru just wanted to swim. That's all he's ever wanted to do.

As I rolled to my side and placed the charm bracelet on my nightstand I began to close my eyes so I could sleep, but before I did I made a quick wish. I wished for Haru to find his dream.

* * *

><p><em>As Haru looked out onto the pool in front of him he almost felt at ease. His mind began to debate on what he should do with his future. Was swimming competitively really for him? Was this what he wanted? But then he looked to the stands on his left and that's when he saw her. <em>

_"__Haru!" He saw her with her long black hair tied up into a high ponytail and small earrings on her earlobes. She had the same ridiculously large smile plastered onto her face; it was so large that it reached all the way up to her eyes and her beautiful lavender orbs had disappeared. With her left hand gripping onto the bar in front of her and her right hand waving at him he saw the charm bracelet he gave her on her wrist. She stood there and continued to cheer his name as loud as she possibly could and that's when he knew what he wanted to do. That's when he saw what he was looking for. _

_"__Hey mate." The sound of someone calling him in English brought the black haired boy back into reality. He looked beside him and saw a blonde man standing beside him. "How's it going? Let's go!" He announced as he took off into the pool and as he did Haru saw the whole stadium fill up with people. They erupted in cheers around him and he looked back to the stands on his left side to see Kei and, sure enough, she was there – cheering him on. _

_He had decided what his future was going to be. He was going to swim. He wanted to swim. So as he jumped forward and went into the water he felt the feeling he had been looking for. _

_He felt free._

* * *

><p><strong>ALRIGHT! So...THE LAST CHAPTER WILL BE POSTED TOMORROW! But do not fear...there is an epilogue because I just couldn't resist! Anyways, leave me a review! <strong>

**-xoxo**


	18. Chapter 18

I sat in my backyard looking up at the stars all by myself. As little lights sparkled against the black velvet sky I felt a soft breeze blow. Haru and Rin had come back from their trip today, but I thought that letting Haru be with his teammates before Nationals was a good idea.

"Kei." As the familiar voice floated through the air with my name I looked over to see Haru standing only a few feet away from me.

"Haru." We stared at each other and no words had formed in either of our throats, so the only thing I could think of was to pat the spot beside me, so Haru knew he could come sit down. Once he did I looked back up at the sky and it almost looked a little different now.

"I have a dream." He said. I looked at the blue-eyed boy and waited for him to continue. "I'm going to swim, Kei. I'm going to start caring about my times and my wins now. I want to swim."

"Good. I know you'll be great, Haru. No one can beat you in the water." I smiled at him.

"I also found something else…" Haru reached for my hand and took it in his. As we continued to stare at each other I began to anticipate what he was about to say. "I want you there. To cheer for me in the crowd. I always want you there." My free hand reached up and gently rested on his cheek as I smiled at him.

"I'll always be there, Haru, because I believe in you."

* * *

><p>"Why are these things always so far away?" I complained as I arrived at my seat beside Gou in the stadium.<p>

"Because we don't have stadiums like this in Iwatobi." She said.

"I know, but I have to keep waking up super early to get to these things. I'm losing sleep over this." I sighed as I slouched in my chair.

"Are we not worth it, Kei-chan?" I looked over to see the four boys standing off to the side. Nagisa had his hands on his hips as he smiled at me.

"Nagisa! Rei! Makoto!" I yelled as I jumped out of my seat and went to hug all three of them.

"Does Haru-chan not get a hug?" Nagisa asked.

"Did you two break-up? You can't! You're a beautiful couple!" Rei complained. I laughed and waved my hand.

"No we haven't, I saw him the other night, so it's not a big thing to see him right now, but I haven't seen you three in a while, right, Haru?"

"Right."

"Oh thank God! You gave me a heartache, Kei-san! You can't do that right before our relay." Rei complained.

"Well don't jump to conclusions then." I laughed as Rei calmed down his fast paced heart. "Are you boys ready?"

"Of course we are! We've trained so hard for this moment." Nagisa said as he balled his fists in front of his chest.

"We will put on a beautiful display for everyone to see." Rei added.

"I think we'll do the best we absolutely can." Makoto said.

"Right." Haru ended.

"You four sound like a really bad superhero group." I sighed as my eyebrow raised and my head tilted to the right slightly.

"But superhero's always win, right?" Nagisa poked me.

"I guess they do…"

"So we're going to do great today!" He cheered.

"I know you boys will." I looked over to the clock and looked back at the four in front of me. "Shouldn't you guys get going?"

"Yup! Let's head on out guys." Makoto instructed his teammates to get a move on.

"Good luck!" I cheered as they all turned around and began to walk away. I began to make my way back to my seat until I heard someone yell my name.

"Kei!" I turned around and saw Haru run up to me.

"Is something wrong?" Haru didn't say anything, instead he grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him and placed his lips on mine. The sounds of Gou and her friends squealing were immediately blocked out by the sensation that ran through my body with that one simple kiss. As he pulled away I was at a loss for words until Haru nodded his head and said,

"I love you too." I was going to say something, but Haru had turned around and left to go catch up with his teammates. I raised my hand in front of me, but closed it and made a fist.

"God damn it! That boy does whatever he wants." I sighed.

* * *

><p>I sat at the dinner table for the last time for the next little while. My mom had cooked up my favourite food and placed it as a spread around the table.<p>

"I can't believe you're going, Onee-san!" Kaiya whined as she sat on my right and her twin brother on my left.

"She'll be back in a bit, right?" Kaito asked me.

"Of course I will! I still need to learn all of mom's recipes." I smiled at the pair.

"Precious flower! You can't leave me!" My dad cried from across the table. I sighed as I stuffed more food into my mouth.

"I have to go, dad, I have school." I said.

"But I need you here, with me!"

"No. I need to go be a adult."

"No! Do you know what happens when you go and be an adult! You become deflowered!" A loud _whack_ sound echoed in the air as my mom slammed a wooden spoon onto the top of my fathers head.

"Where did she get that?" Kaiya asked.

"I don't know." Kaito answered.

"I don't think I want to know." I mumbled.

"She's become a young lady and you need to support her in her endeavours or she'll never come home to see me because of you and your constant crying." My mom scolded my father.

"B-B-But wifey!"

"Oh no." Kaiya said.

"Not again." Kaito added.

"Not the pet names again." I mumbled.

"Don't 'wifey' me! You are going to help your daughter move-in tomorrow without any tears, got it?"

"But-"My father stopped his sentence when he saw my mother giving him her signature death glare. As he swallowed the lump in his throat he nodded his head.

"Good, now can we eat, like a normal family?" My mother suggested. It was silent around the table before the twins grabbed onto both of my arms.

"Don't leave us with them, Onee-san!" Kaiya cried.

"Yea! Take us with you!" Kaito complained. I didn't know what to say, so instead I laughed because my family was one of a kind.

* * *

><p>I smiled at the last picture that I had to place in my last box. It was a picture from Nationals and it was of Haru and I. When he spontaneously turned me around to kiss him a photo was taken and Gou managed to get her hands onto it. I didn't want to know how she got it.<p>

Haru's right hand held onto my left wrist as my right hand was pressed against his chest. His left hand had positioned itself around my waist. Both of our eyes were closed as our lips touched, but everything else in the picture was blurred out. The focus was on the two of us and I absolutely adored the picture.

My thumb rubbed against the engraving I got done on the bottom of the photo frame – 'When love is not madness, it is not love'. I smiled as I placed it into the box and put the lid on top. I looked around my empty room and smiled.

It was time to move on.

It was time to learn new things.

It was time for new beginnings.

It was time for the future.

* * *

><p><strong>Well that's the end of that! I will post up the Epilogue tomorrow (which happens to be my favourite bit!). Tell me what you thought of the sequel or the first story...OR BOTH! <strong>

**-xoxo**


	19. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

I heard the sound of the doorbell ring and looked at the time. I slipped on my jacket before opening it and seeing Makoto standing in front of me with a smile.

"Good morning." I greeted him as he walked inside.

"Good morning. Is he ready?"

"Is he ever ready?" I sighed as Makoto laughed and went into the bathroom as usual. Haru was found sitting in the tub filled with water.

"Let's go. We'll be late for our flight, Haru-chan." Makoto outstretched his hand for his best friend to take.

"I told you to stop calling me –chan." Haru said as he grabbed onto Makoto's hand and pulled him up.

"You're going to turn into a prune one day if you keep soaking in that tub." I yelled through the door after Makoto stepped out of the bathroom, so Haru could put his clothes on.

"Are you guys settled in?" Makoto asked me as I placed my small backpack on my back.

"Does it look like it?" I asked as I outstretched my arm towards all the packed boxes in the living room.

"It looks like my place." Makoto laughed and Haru finally appeared from the bathroom fully clothed. I threw his jacket towards him and began to push the two of them out the door.

"Let's get a move on."

"But I need my mackerel." Haru said after I closed the apartment door behind me. I fished into my backpack and pulled out the familiar breakfast for Haru to eat and tossed it towards him.

"Already made it."

"Do you have the keys?" Haru asked me as I locked the door.

"Yup."

"Passports?"

"Yup."

"Maybe this was a good idea for you two after all." Makoto commented on our living arrangement.

"I think so too." I agreed as we began to make our way to the airport.

* * *

><p>"Ugh Kei!" The all too familiar brunette came into the apartment without a care in the world. The black haired girl looked over her shoulder to see him standing there with his glasses perched on his nose and papers clutched in his hand.<p>

"Hi Makoto!"

"I need your help!" He cried as he ran over to her and stuck the papers in her face. "Can you proof read my essay? I don't know if what I'm doing is right."

"Sure, but I want to finish dinner first, okay? You can have some."

"Yes, please!" The brunette nodded his head at his childhood friend.

"Makoto?" The pair looked over to the bathroom to see the familiar ocean eyed boy walking over to them with a towel on his head and nothing but his boxers on.

"H-Haru! Where are your clothes?" The brunette felt extremely awkward at that moment as he saw his friend walk over to them. He quickly moved away from the couple and stood on the other side of their kitchen counter that separated the kitchen from the family room.

"It's just like wearing a bathing suit Makoto." Kei said to her red-cheeked friend.

"What's that?" Haru asked his partner what she was stirring in the pot.

"It's a new recipe I'm trying out. I've been figuring out how to make you a proper diet like your coach suggested." She answered.

"I want mackerel." He stated as he continued to look at the pot.

"Nope. We're having this."

"Mackerel."

"Go put on some clothes, Haru." Kei pushed Haru slightly towards their bedroom, so he could throw something over his boxers and Makoto's ears would no longer be red.

"Mackerel."

"No."

"Mackerel."

"No."

"I want mackerel." Haru stated from the bedroom. A sigh escaped Kei's lips as she continued to stir the ingredients in the pot.

"We go through this everyday, Haru. You can't just live off of mackerel." She sighed, but their brunette friend laughed at the couple's exchange as he waited for dinner to be ready.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean, you're here?" Kei questioned what Haru was saying on the phone.<p>

"I brought you your bento. You forgot it at home when you left this morning." Before Kei was able to make a comment she had turned the corner and saw Haru standing a few feet away from her. She hung up the phone and walked over to him and saw him holding her bento in his hand.

"Thank you! I completely forgot it when I left this morning." She thanked Haru as she took the neatly wrapped lunch from him.

"Don't forget it tomorrow, I'm at the pool early tomorrow morning." Haru stated.

"I won't, I promise. Now you should get going to practice. I'll see you when I get home." She said as she leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek before turning around and waving at him. When she reached her group of friends once again they all crowded around her like vultures.

"Was that Haru?"

"Is that your boyfriend you're always talking about?"

"You two look like such a cute couple!"

* * *

><p>"You two decorated the place nicely." Kei's mom commented on the layout of the small apartment as she walked around.<p>

"Yea well, I guess it also helps that we didn't bring a ton of stuff." Kei added onto her mother's thought. Their discussion was interrupted by the familiar cry of Kei's father bursting into the room after seeing the bedroom.

"There's only one bed!"

"And your point is…"

"Why is there only one bed?"

"Did you want them to sleep in separate beds?" Kei's mother yelled at her husband.

"I wanted them to live in separate apartments!" Kei sighed at the same idea that her father continued to complain about.

"Well too bad! I like this apartment." Kei's mother put her foot down on the matter and her father began to cry as he talked to his wife.

"Why did I let you talk me into this idea?"

"Because whatever I say goes." She shot back at her husband. Everyone in the apartment stopped what they were doing when they heard the sound of keys and the front door opening.

"Haru-chan!" Kaiya and Kaito both yelled in unison as they ran to the familiar boy that they had grown to love so much.

"Kaiya? Kaito?" Haru seemed a little confused as to why the twins were tackling him in his apartment. Once he closed the door and looked up he swallowed the smallest lump that gathered in his throat as he saw Kei's father standing beside his daughter in a protective manner.

"I think we need to have a talk, Haruka Nanase." As Kei's father crossed his arms over his chest and held his head high Kei, Mrs. Mizuko, Keiya and Kaito all pressed their hands against their foreheads and sighed.

"Do you really need to have a talk with him every time you see him?" Kei asked her father.

* * *

><p>"Nagisa! Rei!" Kei yelled through her laptop towards the duo in Rei's bedroom. Haru, Kei and Makoto had gathered in the couple's apartment to Skype with their friends back at home.<p>

"Kei-chan! Haru-chan! Mako-chan!" The familiar blonde also yelled.

"How are you guys?" Makoto asked his friends.

"We're great! We have a bunch of new members and they're great!" Nagisa praised the new members of their Swim Club.

"So who's the captain then?" Kei asked the two boys.

"I am! And Nagisa-kun is vice-captain." Rei answered.

"What was it you said about vice-captains last year, Nagisa?" Kei asked the blonde.

"I believe it was something like 'they don't do anything really'." Makoto stated beside his friend.

"But I do stuff!" Nagisa yelled on his end of the connection.

"I think you should personally go to every vice-captain and apologize." Kei teased her blonde friend.

"But that's so many people!"

"Then maybe you'll learn to think before you speak for once."

"Wait Kei-chan…"

"Yes?"

"Do you have a cheerleading uniform for Haru-chan's new swim team?"

"W-What? Don't change the subject!" Kei's voice cracked slightly at the question.

"But you still need to buy one for him!"

"What? Haru! Say something!" Kei looked to the man she was living with to only have him shrug his shoulders.

"Don't bring me into this." He stated. Kei groaned before pushing her forehead into his forearm.

"Ugh….Haru!"

* * *

><p>"Who's that?"<p>

"I don't know."

"No way! That's Haru's girlfriend!"

"Wow…wait…is she the one that wanted to be a singer?"

"Yea, I saw her perform last year since my cousin was in the same choir."

"And…"

"And she's good man. She could probably be one too."

"I guess it also helps that she's easy on the eyes."

"That Haru is one lucky guy."

"I heard he swims for her."

"What? How can you swim for someone?"

"I don't know! That's just what I've heard."

"She gave up her dream, so he's swimming for her because he's living out his." The two boys looked behind them and were surprised to see the coach standing behind them with his hands on his waist as he stared at the couple on the other side of the pool. The couple didn't see anyone around them as they continued to talk and only look at each other. The coach knew that Kei was one of the few people that would never render Haru's progress, so she would come in every once in a while to see how his progress has developed.

"C-Coach!"

"It's a good thing she isn't going into the spotlight, then she'd have to deal with knuckle heads like you."

"We're terribly sorry." The pair bowed towards their coach.

"Maybe you two would be able to find a girl like her…if you cleaned up your brains." The coach said as he walked away from the pair and towards the couple on the other side of the pool.

They reminded him of him and his wife.

They reminded him of happiness.

They reminded him of love.

* * *

><p>Kei's hand reached up to her forehead and lightly massaged the area. Her exam was tomorrow and she was worried that she wasn't going to do well. Haru leaned against the doorframe and observed her as she sat in front of the table with her books scattered across the wood. He walked over to her and kneeled down behind her. His nimble fingers rested on her shoulder as he began to place slight pressure on the tensed up skin.<p>

"Come to bed." He stated. She shook her head and sighed.

"I can't. I want to make sure I know this." He stood up silently and took her hand away from her pencil. She looked up at him and he saw how tired her eyes were from staring at the pages of her textbook.

"Come on." He began to tug at her hand and she reluctantly got up from her spot. As she left her books and papers behind she arrived at her comfortable bed and rolled into the comfy sheets. Kei rolled over to her other half and placed her head on his chest and reached out her arm, so she was holding him. With her right leg in-between his she began to relax in her position.

"I love you, Haru." She mumbled against his chest. She didn't see the small smile on his face that he always got when she said those three little words. He lightly wrapped his arms around her as he let his eyes close.

"I love you too, Kei."

* * *

><p>Haru had a tradition. Right before he would get onto the platform he would always look to his left and into the stands. The smallest smirk would form on his lips as he steps onto the familiar platform. He still couldn't believe that after all these years she was still standing in the bleachers.<p>

Just like every other time she was pressed up against the bar. Her, now full, charm bracelet was prominent on her right wrist as she would wave at him and yell his name as loud as she could. Her long black hair was in a bun on the crown of her head. A smile was plastered onto her face and her violet orbs were now crescent moons as she cheered on the man she was in love with. The only difference was that her left hand, that was gripping onto the bar, had a small sparkle coming off of her finger. Before Haru dove into the water he knew that he made all the right decisions.

Kei was always beside him because she believed in him more than he believed in himself. She understood him more than he would like to admit. She made him happy.

That's why last night he asked her that important question.

She was a part of him.

She was a part of his future.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end! I honestly loved writing this Epilogue! So leave me your reviews and thoughts on both stories or what your favourite part was or anything! And if you haven't already then go check out the Rin story! I'll be focusing on that now! <strong>

**-xoxo**


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